How Soon Is Now?
by ViciousBluesummers
Summary: He's not quite sure that someone like him deserves to make it out of his impoverished community, but hell, he's gonna try and find out for himself whether or not he is truly worthy of a better life. AU. Not the best summary but let me know what you think anyway. 1xR
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Concrete Jungle**

Enveloped in brutal sunlight, the streets cooked under the sun's taunting gaze. People walked over the cracked concrete, covered in sweat with annoyed expressions plastered on their faces. You could hear the loud humming of the air conditioners hanging off the windows of the battered and deteriorating houses. The loud music blasting out car windows complimented the sounds, filling the streets with noise pollution. The air quality was shit. The police sirens were too frequent and the unattended children roaming the streets were always somehow getting in people's way. The mailman was doing his absolute best to finish up his route and get the hell out of the neighborhood, or else risk getting mugged or chased by wild dogs.

The streets were pure hell and it was nothing out of the ordinary. This was how it always was and that's how it would always be.

Nothing has changed much in the neighborhood and it's not like anyone in a position to do anything felt any need to lend a helping hand to these underserved communities. There was nothing in it for them. The people of these streets knew no one cared and with that knowledge it became difficult for anyone to feel optimistic for any sort of help. They all went on with their lives trying to live it the best way they could. Some made it out, most didn't. The streets didn't care either way. You played by its rules and if you managed to escape, then congratulations. If not, then enjoy living life chained to a dead end fate. That, or do whatever you could to survive. Live however you can, by any means necessary.

A young teenage boy walked these streets, hands in his pockets, head down, focused on his own destination. Wearing a green muscle shirt, exposing his defined yet perspiring arms, and blue jeans with his construction style boots, Heero Yuy soldiered on. He was a product of his environment. Only knowing the darkness this city ever exposed to him. Like a lot of people, Heero was convinced that here was where he was born and here is where he will die. Whether through some brutal act of violence or maybe some unfortunate accident. He wondered why it had to happen this way, why he was brought into this world under these horrific circumstances. At a certain point, Heero accepted this and began to learn to survive. The young boy was a smart fellow actually. He liked to read and study on his own time. He felt like picking up the slack that his teachers left considering how the schools in the inner city were not exactly up to par.

They didn't care too much for their students and the resentment was thrown the other way around. It always felt like and 'us against them' atmosphere between the students and faculty and Heero had no time to waste on battling with uninterested teachers and higher ups. He would take whatever the school could give and do the rest on his own.

While learning to survive the streets of course.

A group of kids ran past Heero, almost tripping over them. The kids didn't apologize and kept it moving. Heero shook his head with his usual intense expression. On one hand it bothered him how terrible these kids acted. On the other hand, it's not like anyone cared about them anyway. Heero sighed and continued on his trek to his home.

A man went walking towards Heero and stopped him by tapping on his shoulders. The young teenage boy looked up and recognized the man. Heero nodded and took his hands out of his pockets. He gave a quick look around before giving the man a unique looking handshake. Heero then took his hand back, this time with money and shoved it back into his pockets. The other man took his hand back and clumsily shoved it into his pockets, but instead of money his hand had a small bag of something that could get someone locked up for quite a long time. The man skated off and Heero went on like nothing happened. His head back down, feet moving him again.

He finally arrived and entered the large apartment building. He saw some people hanging out in the lobby. Each of them greeting Heero as he entered. Some were people who lived in the building and some were people he recognized from the neighborhood. He didn't say much and nodded to all of them before digging out his keys and entering his apartment. He sighed and walked to the living room where the TV was on and his uncle J was sitting on a recliner and watching.

Heero remained standing and kept his eyes on the television, not watching it so much as just mindlessly staring at it. Hands still in his pockets.

A few minutes of silence passed by before anyone spoke. "Rents due." said the much older and haggard man.

Eyes still burning a hole through the TV. "Yeah." Heero simply responded. Another 90 seconds passed by before his uncle broke the silence again.

"I assume business has been good?"

Heero shugged. He took a hand out of his pocket and threw a stack of cash on the coffee table in front of them. Uncle J reached out and sighed, grabbing the stack of cash and counting it. He knew Heero was good for it, but he just did it out of habit. The younger man just stood there, waiting for him to finish counting. Uncle J was slow and old, disabled as well with a prosthetic right arm. This took some time.

Heero and Uncle J didn't dislike each other, but they weren't close either. Uncle J took him in when Heero's family died really young. J was actually quite close to Heero's dad and promised he would look after him. It was just hard to feel like a family when your harsh environment dictates your behavior. Uncle J did what he could, teaching Heero many different things that helped him survive. Yes, that meant also knowing how to work a firearm when he was very young. It wasn't something he was proud of, but when you lived where they lived you could kind of see how something like that may be necessary. Heero spent a lot of time in the streets as well, so knowing a bit of self defense most definitely came in handy.

"Looks good." Uncle J tossed the money back on the table before relaxing back on his seat. Heero remained still, not moving like Uncle J expected him to. "Something up, Heero?" Uncle J raised an eyebrow.

Heero sighed and took his other hand out of his pocket, throwing another stack of cash on the table. Uncle J looked at the money and looked back up at him. "What's this now?"

"Count it." Heero said in a tone that was neither a command nor a request.

J shrugged and humored the young man. Heero finally looked over at him, watching him slowly count the cash. Eventually he finished and Heero heard the man whistle loudly. "About four thousand dollars? Early Christmas present or something?" Uncle J chuckled at him.

Heero shook his head. "No. Tuition."

"Tuition?"

"Tuition." Heero confirmed again with a nod.

"What's this supposed to mean?" J waved the the money at him.

"St. Gabriel Academy." Heero responded as he looked away again.

"That private school across town where all the rich kids go?" Uncle J smirked. "Don't tell me you've been saving up for this."

"Yeah, I have." Heero started. "Four thousand as a down payment and another four thousand before the year is halfway done. I'll have it. I already went through the trouble of setting things up for you to pay on my behalf. In a year and four and a half months I'll be 18, and you'll no longer be my legal guardian. So, until then, I'm gonna need your help." Heero walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out something to read before stepping away, beginning to exit the living room.

"I'll do it, but do know, people like us don't belong in a place like that. We were meant to keep our distance from that kind of high society." Uncle J explained before fixing his glasses and looking out the window. "Out there, that's where we belong. They know that and they won't accept us. This is where it begins and ends for you and me."

Heero stopped in his tracks but didn't look back. He pondered his uncle's words and realized that he didn't necessarily disagree with his sentiment. He knew that he was lower than them and planned on keeping as much distance as he could from their world. But he knew he was getting to the point where he needed to make his escape. He wanted to know if there was more for him than these dead end streets. He wanted to know more and be in an environment where he could focus on himself or his studies instead of just making it to tomorrow.

"Hn." Heero didn't respond to Uncle J, simply looking back at him with his usual intense glare before walking away to his room down the hall.

"Imagine that." Uncle J laughed to himself. "Paying for a school like that with drug money." Uncle J was amused. "You're one of a kind, Heero."

Time passed by and Heero was sitting on the edge of his bed, he tossed the book over his shoulder and looked out his window. The sun had gone away and the night had arrived. He wondered if what he was doing was the right thing. He had to get his hands dirty to attend this school but he knew that this was something that he wanted to do. Thinking about this stressed him out. He raked a hand through his unruly head of hair and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

He heard his phone go off and picked it up. It was Duo.

'We out tonight?' the text read.

Heero stared at his phone for a bit before responding. He thought that maybe tonight would be one of those nights where he stayed home. But with all of these thoughts floating around in his head about his place in the world bothering him, he decided that maybe some distraction would help. Duo could get on his nerves occasionally but he was reliable and he did consider him a really good friend. Heero texted his response.

'Where are you?' Heero sent.

About 20 seconds passed before Duo replied. 'Hanging around Libra.'

Heero rubbed one of his eyes. Libra was the club where a lot of people went to chill. A lot of dangerous people as well. He and Duo were both underage so they had no business being there. But Heero was respected so he got a pass and Duo was also well liked and got in when he wanted to as well. Heero also made a lot of money when he went to places like that. He was already focused on saving up for the next payment so he had to make some sales. He already paid off all the bills for Uncle J so he needed to start making some money now.

He typed out and sent his next text message. 'I'll be there in twenty. How's the scene?'

'It's hype but u already knew that lol' Duo's response read.

It's true, that place was always live and Heero knew it. But that's not really what he was asking. 'I mean do you think there's gonna be any problems.' Heero sent.

'Oh that's what u meant… we should be good. Tonight is looking like a chill one.' read the first part of his response. 'U can keep the piece at home.'

"Hn." Heero muttered to himself. He looked over at his desk where his own personal handgun was resting. He hated that he had to have one, and hated that he had to ask his friend if he needed one to even go out. This is what he wanted to escape from.

'See you soon then.' Heero got up and headed for his door. He looked once more at his gun, almost looking at it with contempt. He shook his head and walked out to the hall.

"Taking off?" He heard Uncle J ask, he hadn't moved from his spot in the living room.

"Yeah." Heero flatly replied.

"Keep your head up and your eyes open." Uncle J responded.

Heero didn't need to be told that. He opened the door and allowed the night to swallow him up.

**AN:** Something i thought of throwing out there. Gundam Wing deserves love, I dont care how bad Frozen Teardrop is lol

I just caught myself thinking this up while listening to "How Soon is Now?" by the Smiths and well, here it is. Just a small start on something, not sure where it will go but screw it, let's see what happens.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: How Soon Is Now?**

The bus came around in time and Heero took a seat in the back like he usually did. He kept to himself and waited for the ride to reach its destination. Libra wasn't that far, another 10 more minutes down the road and he would be there. He threw on some earbuds and began playing music to keep himself relaxed. His head drifted off to his usual thoughts. His moved his head to look out the window to admire how, sometimes, this rundown city could look kind of striking at night. His admiration for the night time aesthetics wouldn't last long because he knew what this town really was, but for at least a little bit he could pretend there was something about this place he could compliment. Heero would take what he could get.

In a few weeks, Heero would start taking the bus to school. He did that anyway, but this time he would be going to another school, and in the opposite direction of town, on a different bus. Heero would never admit this, but he was a little nervous. He was so used to his usual habitat that he was starting to worry that he might not know how to act. He figured he did, but he wasn't sure how his version of acting natural would come off to those kinds of people. Heero knew people referred to him as intense, but he honestly didn't know any other way to act. Hopefully the rich kids that would be his classmates wouldn't take it the wrong way. But when that thought entered his mind, he then shook his head. Actually, he didn't mind if it did come off the wrong way. He wasn't going there to make friends. It would be a much better experience for him if he was able to keep to himself. His introverted behavior would probably do him good. The less people to deal with the better, he decided.

The music soothed him and kept him in his thoughts. His mind was clear and his goal was set. He just needed to get this school year started with already. The quicker he could get things going, the closer he could get to his goal of leaving this place. He would go to a good school for the first time in his life and then hopefully on to bigger and better things.

He could leave this crime life behind. He could get to the point where he didn't have to worry about whether he should leave home with a gun or not. That would be nice, Heero thought.

A few more minutes passed and his stop was coming up. Heero sighed and got up. He took his earbuds off and headed for the front. The bus slowed and the air brakes sounded. The door opened and he went off to meet his braided hair friend.

* * *

In a large, almost mansion-like home across town, a young honey blonde haired girl stood by her bedroom door. She leaned on it with her arms crossed wearing an unamused look as she looked up at her apologetic father.

"Look Relena, I'm sorry. I'm gonna try and make it back for your birthday but I can make any promises. You're old enough to understand this, so please forgive me, okay?" the older man reasoned.

Relena continued to stare holes into her father. It killed her to know that her father would be leaving a week before her birthday for some supposed big meetings across the country. He worked in government, specifically in housing and development. He and her mother did everything to set up her party in a large country club that her mother's family owned and it greatly annoyed her how her father could quite possibly miss the entire thing. Her party would be a week after classes resumed. So this was a great way to start off the new year, Relena sarcastically thought.

Her father kept trying to apologize to her but Relena didn't want to hear it. Eventually she sighed and shook her head. "Look father, it's fine. I mean, yeah, if you're not there I'll be pretty disappointed. But you're right, I'm old enough to know how busy you can get and I know you're working very hard. You're not around as much as I'd like you to be but I know you're a good man. So just do your best and I'll take care of myself, alright?" Relena answered.

Her father gave her a smile, he was glad his daughter was acting mature about this. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you, Relena. Again I'm sorry, but you know I love you right?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yes father, I know."

"Good." he continued. "I have the greatest daughter that anyone could be blessed with."

"Oh stop it." Relena chuckled at her father's flattery, clearly trying to kiss up to her for being understanding. The two spoke a little more, talking about her upcoming school year before her father retired to his office downstairs. Relena went back into her room and collapsed on her bed. A mixture of disappointment and boredom defined her current state. But before her head went back to the stinging disappointment of the news her father just dropped on her, Relena's phone rang.

She reached for it and saw that her good friend Dorothy Catalonia was calling. The girl answered. "Hey, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just a little, you know, bored." the young blonde on the other line responded.

"Ah, missing your man already?" Relena said with a smirk.

"Ugh, I hate that I'm that transparent."

"It's okay, I'm sure Quatre misses you too." Relena continued with a smirk.

"Oh, I know he does. Texted me as much this afternoon." Dorothy sighed.

"Very nice of him." Relena replied as she moved to lay on her side. "How long is he gone for again?"

"Their big family cruise lasts until the end of the weekend." Dorothy explained.

"There, he'll be back soon then." Relena admired how those two got along. They were quite the pair. Dorothy was the assertive one in the relationship while Quatre played the role of the kind and caring one. Relena found the pair cute in their weird little way.

"Yes I know, but really Relena, what about you?"

"What about me?" the honey blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Is this finally the year Miss Relena Darlian decides to have a man in her life? I'm quite curious." Relena could already see Dorothy's signature eyebrows raise in mischief.

"Uh, doubt it." Relena shook her head.

"Oh come on, it's been like 2 years since your last proper boyfriend." Dorothy whined. "I'd like to double date with my best friend at least once before my high school career is over."

Relena rolled her eyes. "Sorry, just not really interested in dating right now."

"We are teenagers, Miss Relena, it's kind of something we have to do."

"Being a teenager doesn't mean we have to." Relena wondered if Dorothy would ever stop calling her 'Miss Relena'. There was no need for her to be so formal all the time. But then that was just one of her quirks.

"Yes it does." Dorothy quickly replied.

"So you're just with Quatre because you're in high school?" Relena questioned her friend's logic.

"No, he's sweet, kind and lovable. That's why I'm with him. I'm just showing you what a normal teenager is supposed to act like." She heard Relena sigh. "We can't just spend all of these fun years focusing on school work and being a daddy's girl."

"Hey!"

"Just saying, dear." Dorothy smirked. "Will your father be present at your birthday party?" Relena didn't really want to think more about her father.

"He said he can't make any promises."

"Oh you poor girl." Dorothy began. "It must be so hard…"

"Well you know that's how it is with him. I always try and make the best of it." Relena closed her eyes. "I won't let it get me down."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Dorothy said sadly. "My heart aches at your dire situation."

"I mean you can't be that shocked. You know how my father is." Relena chuckled. "No need to be so dramatic."

"No dear, its because your dad seems to be the only man in your life. It's quite... sad, really. You should start dating, seriously."

"Dorothy…" Relena should have known where Dorothy was going with all that sympathy. "Enough with that already."

"Date Trowa."

"Eww no!" That wasn't the first time she heard someone say that to her.

"Why eww?" Dorothy asked. "Trowa is nice, you guys are already friends. He's Quatre's right hand man so my dream of a double date with you would be so easily realized." Relena could see the dreamy look on her friend's face. "And do I really need to remind you what that man looks like with his shirt off? Just a beautiful man." Dorothy swooned.

Relena blushed, yeah she had seen that before. "Does Quatre know you talk about his best friend that way?"

"Oh he knows." Dorothy waved it off. "He also knows that Trowa isn't my type and Quatre very much is my kind of man. He has nothing to worry about. I'm just pointing out the obvious. He's incredibly attractive and you two should go out."

"I can't. I just don't see him that way." Relena explained. She knew that Trowa was a good guy and a handsome one at that. But he always just felt more of a brother to her, or like a really good friend.

"How could you ever just view him like that? You're a very strange girl, Miss Relena." Dorothy said in a confused manner.

"You know, girls and guys can just be friends. We don't always have to be attracted to each other." Relena commented.

"If you say so…" Relena heard a snort come from Dorothy's end and rolled her eyes. "Unless that's your way of coming out to me. At least then you would have a good excuse."

"Oh shut up." Relena shook her head before yawning and adjusting herself properly on the bed.

"Oh don't tell me you're tired already. It's barely 9 PM."

"That's late for me tonight." Relena shrugged. She was bored, disappointed and now tired as well.

"You'll never get a guy if you start going to bed that early." Dorothy stated.

"My loss then." Relena yawned again. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"You're going to be 17 with the body clock of a 60 year old. You're such an old hag."

"Bye!" Relena hung up on her friend with a groan. She rested her head on her pillow. Her eyes looking up towards the ceiling as her eyelids started to get heavy. 'Ugh, why am I so tired this early?' she thought to herself. Maybe she did need something new in her life. Whether it be a boyfriend or something else… maybe this next school year at St. Gabriel might bring something new. Her life was already beginning to feel formulaic, so maybe some kind of shake up could start things over again.

Relena took a deep breath and let sleep overwhelm her.

* * *

With his hands in his pockets, Heero Yuy stood with his back against the brick wall of the outside of Club Libra. There was a long line of people trying to get in, security guards kicking people out and turning others away. The line featured people of college age and some people from the neighborhood. Heero and his friend Duo Maxwell remained outside to soak in the night time scenery. They could get in any time they wanted to, so they weren't in any hurry to enter Libra.

"Damn, so you're going there?" the young man with the long, brown colored braid commented. "That's a shit ton of money though, right?"

Heero nodded, his eyes scanning the busy sidewalk, keeping his eyes on the people moving here and there.

"That's wild.I don't think I have it in me to save up that much cash. I'm not really good with money, you know." Heero knew that already. Duo recently lost a few hundred betting on basketball games, and another couple hundred on baseball games before that, too. "So, like, that means you gotta wear uniforms, too?"

Heero nodded again. He saw a man give him a look. Heero recognized what it meant and carefully motioned him over. The young teenage boy dug into his boot as quickly as he could before trading a small bag for some money, shoving it into his pocket as fast as he could. The man walked away and back into the line for Libra.

"8 thousand for a year. I'll stay my ass in public school." Duo chuckled.

"Hn." Heero knew he couldn't go back to that kind of thing anymore. He was sick of it, which is why he hustled hard to be able to pay his way out of it. That's the power of a dollar.

"Hey, that Wufei coming up?" The pair noticed another young kid hop out of a car and head their way. He nodded at both of them and took a spot on the wall next to Heero.

"Things calm out here?" asked the kid with the slick back ponytail.

Duo nodded while Heero shrugged. "As calm as things get around here." the braided boy chuckled.

Wufei crossed his arms as he watched the line get bigger. "Treize been around lately?"

Heero's eyebrows twitched at the mention of that man's name. "Not that I've seen. Probably keeping an eye on his other businesses. You seen him around, Heero?"

The boy in the green muscle shirt just shook his head. No, he had not and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Then you're probably right, Duo." Wufei looked over to the guy next to him. "So how you been?" Heero shrugged once again.

"Hey, tell him!" Duo jumped in. "He'll never believe it."

"Tell me what?" Wufei raised an eyebrow at Duo.

"Our man right here won't be joining us in school this year." Duo smirked.

"Huh? What are you dropping out or something?" Wufei looked quizzically at Heero.

Heero shook his head. Before he could explain, Duo decided to take the initiative. "Apparently your boy has been saving up his dough to buy his way into St. Gabriel Academy. That rich kids school across town."

Wufei whistled. "Whoa, I'll admit that's kind of impressive. Not sure how they'll take to someone like us around their school halls but hey, I can understand you wanting to get away from here. I don't blame you."

"Yeah, I'm with that." Duo agreed. "Someones gotta try and make it out of here. It's gonna be funny seeing you come back around in a fancy school uniform. That's gonna be funny." Duo laughed.

Heero sighed. He didn't like the idea of having to wear something exclusively for school, but that's the bullet he's willing to bite.

"Hey that means you're gonna be able to see some fine looking rich girls in school girl uniforms. Now i'm getting jealous." Duo snickered.

"Women are nothing but a distraction. Heero isn't the kind of guy who would let something like girls cloud his judgment." Wufei responded and Heero mentally agreed. "Besides, they would flip if they saw someone like us go after their women."

"Eh, you're probably right. But it is nice to think about. Well, for me anyway." Duo smirked.

"Not sure why that would excite you." Wufei tilted his head at the braided boy. "Don't you have a girlfriend already?"

"Me and Hilde are kinda an off again on again type of couple." Duo explained, hand rubbing the back of his head.

"That your way of saying she got mad at you and now you're here licking your wounds?" Wufei wasn't buying that explanation. Heero knew the answer to that already when the ghost of a smirk graced his features.

"You got it." Duo laughed. "But I'm a sap, i'll go running back to her and apologizing like I usually do."

"At least you're honest." Wufei shook his head. "Anyway, you guys stepping in?" Wufei nodded over to the club.

"Yeah, I guess it's about time we head in." Duo looked over at Heero. "Heading in?"

Heero nodded. "Give me a second. I'll meet you guys in there." he finally spoke. The other two shrugged and walked towards the entrance where the security guards recognized them and let them in. Some people started complaining about how they had to wait while they waltzed right in but the guards weren't hearing it and ignored them.

The one remaining outside had his Prussian colored eyes focused on the dark sky above. These next few weeks couldn't come fast enough. The more he walked these streets and the more dirty money he made, the more his soul hurt. He wanted something greater than this and needed to start achieving that as soon as he could. For the first time in his life, he was actually looking forward to school. He knew it would be a lonely experience, but that he could deal with. At least that's what he convinced himself, anyway. Regardless, he was trying to go for it. He's walked alone most of his life. No need to start changing things now.

"Yo, you going in?" one of the security guards asked, noticing Heero standing there.

Heero looked over at him and grunted. "Hn." He took one last look at the sky above and headed for the entrance. He walked right in and the loud music quickly assaults the senses. The dance floor was packed and drinks were getting passed around left and right. He looked across the floor and saw Wufei and Duo by the bar area. He walked over towards them. He would use this time to get away from reality for a quick second.

And make a little money in the process.

* * *

As slowly as it went, the weeks finally passed.

Heero woke up, showered, brushed his teeth and got himself dressed. He looked at himself in the mirror. He got his uniform a few days before his first day at school. He didn't feel comfortable in it, but he would deal with that on his own. He had his new black dress shoes with his matching black slacks and jacket. A white button up shirt and red tie finished up the look. He ran a hand through his brown head of hair and figured he was ready.

On the way out he grabbed his book bag and headed for the door. He made it outside and started heading for the bus stop. The people around town who knew him commented on his new get up. He got sick of having to explain himself so he started to just wave people off, though there was a small upward curve at the corner of his lips. There was some pride he had in knowing he was possibly already doing better for himself.

His bus arrived and he took his usual spot in the back. This would be the new bus he would take, heading to the much more well off part of the city. He wasn't sure what to expect, he just knew it would be different.

Once again he took out his earbuds and began playing music. He looked at the songs on his phone and chose one that just fit his current mood. It began with a really cool guitar effect before the song finally kicked in. It was a slower paced track and it felt like the thing to listen to at the moment. Then the singer finally spoke.

_I am the son and the heir_

_Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar_

_I am the son and heir of nothing in particular _

Heero looked out the window and watched the city move past him. He wondered if things would change from here on out.

_Oh shut your mouth, how can you say, I go about things the wrong way_

_I am human and I need to be loved_

_Just like everybody else does_

He wondered to himself if he could finally find any kind of self worth here, or if the experience in general would do that for him.

_There's a club if you'd like to go_

_You could meet somebody that really loves you_

At that moment he opened up the school brochure that showed how large the school was. He never went there himself, but he saw online how huge it looked.

_So you go and you stand on your own_

_And you leave on your own _

_And you go home and you cry and you want to die_

Heero closed his eyes and kept his head leaning on the bus window.

_When you say it's going to happen now_

_Well, when exactly do you mean?_

_See I've already waited too long_

_And all my hope is gone _

Heero felt himself clench his fists. He was nervous. He didn't want to admit it, but he was. How cowardly of him, he thought.

_You shut your mouth, how can you say, I go about things the wrong way_

_I am human and I need to be loved_

_Just like everybody else does_

The Prussian eyed boy sighed. He was as ready as he ever will be.

**AN: **I do not own Gundam Wing or the song "How Soon Is Now?" by the Smiths. Again, let me know what you think. Or not lol Let's just have fun here.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: My Name Is Relena Darlian**

Outside of the large school building there were huge crowds of students and faculty gathered everywhere. The young school kids were meeting up with friends, teachers and staff who had good relationships with their kids parents were chatting. Everyone got together in their groups, asking who had classes with whom and catching up after their summer vacations. It was a loud and boisterous morning for all of the excited student body of St. Gabriel Academy. Everybody seemed to know everybody. It seemed like an incredibly positive school environment.

A large pink luxury car pulled up to the front and out came Relena Darlian. She thanked her driver, Pagan, and began walking towards the building. Everyone came to greet the honey blonde and she very kindly greeted them back. Relena was immensely popular and the crowd gathering around her showed that. Relena wasn't always comfortable with all the attention but she always put on her best smile, it was sometimes real and other times fake.

The crowd followed her into the school halls and began to disperse once Relena found her friend Dorothy Catalonia. Her platinum blonde haired friend shooed everyone away, something Relena was grateful for, knowing she wasn't mean enough to do something like that. That's how Relena knew Dorothy was a genuine friend. She knew when to be tough around her. Dorothy wasn't fake with Relena and wasn't just nice to her for the sake of being in her good graces. Dorothy playfully picked on her friend and even knew when to call her out if need be. That's the kind of real friendship Relena wanted. She didn't want people kissing up to her just because of her popularity or because of how pretty she was.

The pair walked the hallways, meeting and talking with other friends, letting the time pass before their first class began. Luckily it was a class that both Dorothy and Relena shared. They walked off and found the room. They sat beside each other, talking of things they would do after school and Dorothy lightly teasing Relena about her single status. Relena simply rolled her eyes and watched as the class filled up. Eventually their teacher walked in and politely greeted them. She began calling attendance, so far everyone was present. That was until she got to a certain name.

"Heero Yuy?" the teacher asked. No one responded. She called out again, but still no response. The kids all looked around, clearly no recognizing the name.

"New student or something?" Dorothy muttered over to Relena.

The honey blonde girl shrugged. She certainly didn't recognize it. 'That's quite the unique name. Wonder who it could be' she thought. The teacher called out the name one more time before finally moving on.

She called out the last name on her attendance sheet, everyone except one student seemed to be accounted for. It was at that point where the teacher was about to start the class when the room door opened and someone stepped in. No one recognized this young man's face but they would know him now.

"Ah, Heero Yuy I assume." The brown haired teen nodded.

"Okay, now everyone is here. Please, take a seat." the teacher said to him. Heero did just that, walking over to an empty spot by the window, a few spots in front of Relena who could not keep her eyes off of him. 'So, this was Heero Yuy?' her thoughts went again. She noticed how untamed his hair seemed, and his eyes had this sort of burning intensity that she had never seen before. He gave off this incredibly alien vibe to her. Something about his presence shook her up. She wondered if she was the only one who felt this way about him. She turned around and looked to see a lot of her classmates were looking at the new student as well. The female population looked on with a mixture of admiration for his clearly attractive features and wonder at who this kid exactly was. The male students were trying to size him up as men tend to do whenever something like this happens. Did he have some rich parents that just moved into the neighborhood? Did anyone in this school know him? Relena wondered some more.

She watched as crossed his arms and looked out towards the window. There was something about those Prussian colored eyes that Relena was trying to pick up on but just couldn't figure it out but tried to anyway. Relena then felt herself get poked and looked over to Dorothy. She had a hand on her chin with her elbow resting on her desk. "So that's him?" Dorothy smirked. "Not bad at all."

Relena looked back at the new student. She watched as he ran a hand through his wild head of hair and heard as he sighed. She still wasn't sure what to make of him, but for some reason she couldn't keep from wondering. The class went on and Relena focused but couldn't help but let her mind slip as she watched the new student out of the corner of her eyes.

Heero for his part felt strange. He knew that he was attracting attention he didn't want. But kind of expected it as well. Heero felt out of place but that was something he mentally prepared for, or at least he thought he was prepared. It didn't help that he came in kind of late, it was still another 5 minute walk from the bus stop and the school. The traffic didn't help either. It was annoying.

He decided not to think too much of that right now and kept his thoughts on the class at hand. He didn't want to botch his first day of school already.

* * *

When class finished all of the kids emptied out into the hallways. Relena looked around and saw that the new kid had already disappeared. She wondered if she would have another class with him. Maybe she could properly introduce herself to him, she thought.

"So, no one has ever seen him before?" Dorothy asked as she, Relena and a whole group wandered the hallways. Relena shook her head. "I know I haven't."

"Yeah, me either." said a girl who was walking with them. Another one echoed the same thing. "But he sure is cute." another girl giggled.

Dorothy nodded. "He is quite the eye candy, I'll say that much." She looked at her phone when a message came in. She shook her head. "Yeah, Quatre also doesn't know the name. We got ourselves a mystery student here, ladies." Relena nodded, her head lost in thought as she hugged her books closely to her chest. She started absentmindedly down the hallway. Dorothy noticed the blank look on her face and smirked. 'This may be an interesting year.' she said in her head.

School went on a couple classes more and Relena hadn't seen the new student again yet. It didn't stop her from her studies but she couldn't help but mentally kick herself for being the most distracted during class she had ever been. It was silly for her to think this much about something, a guy especially, but she couldn't help but let her mind drift a little. She shook her head and tried to put these thoughts in the back of her mind. She was sure she could introduce herself when the time was right.

Lunch time came and everyone sat eating in wide and open cafeteria. There was a large door that led to a balcony and stairs that led down to the fields where the soccer and baseball team played. That was where Heero took his spot and leaned over, looking out towards the vast and open outside area. There was also a little stadium the school had where track and field took place and of course football. He was impressed at how much this school had. His old school was absolute crap compared to all of this, He noted.

He wondered how everyone was doing. He decided to keep his phone off when he was in school. He didn't want to have to conduct business while at St. Gabriel. He didn't need that kind of heat here, nor did he want to think of his reality while still in school. Here, he wanted to forget and just be alone. He liked the cool breeze that ran over his face. Being able to be outside during lunch was a new experience for him. Usually in his old place, they wouldn't let kids go in and out. They had security at all of the doors in the cafeteria, which wasn't that big, and a lot of kids had to stand and eat. It felt like what he thought prison would be like.

Not like here, Heero noted. The students went here and there however they pleased. No one stopped them. It was a sense of freedom that he never knew existed in a school setting. It took a little getting used to, his entire life on the streets just made his mind work a little differently. He rested his head on his arms, eyes continuing to look on out.

In the cafeteria, Relena, Dorothy, Quatre and another group took their place at a table. They all began talking about their day up to that point. There were people coming from all over asking about Relena's birthday party and how excited they were to go. Relena's party seemed to be a major deal within the school population. Relena's just smiled at them and wished them a good time before finally getting a chance to eat with her friends.

"Having a good day so far, Relena?" Quatre asked, as he watched the crowd around Relena start to shrink.

"I would say she is." Dorothy smirked. Quatre looked at his girlfriend with a raised eyebrow.

"What makes you say that?" Quatre continued. Relena also gave her friend an inquiring look.

"Well it seem like out princess here is quite taken with the new student." Dorothy said with a mischievous face.

"I'm not sure where you're getting such ideas from, Dorothy." Relena rolled her eyes.

"At this point, dear, I think I'm pretty good at reading your body language." the platinum blonde replied. "It's okay to admit it. He's got that wild look about him that's just way too hard to resist. He's the talk of town amongst us ladies and for very good reasons. I mean look at him."

"Hey now, watch those compliments…" Quatre groaned.

Dorothy waved him off. "Oh please, Quatre." She threw her hair over her shoulder and leaned closer to her boyfriend. Which he knew was the sign to kiss her on the cheek and he happily obliged. "I have no intentions of going after him, my love." Dorothy reassured him. "Besides, he's all Relena's."

"What?" Relena shook her head. "You know I'm not interested in that right now."

"That look in your eyes from earlier said different." Dorothy said as she dug into a bowl of fresh fruit.

"What do you mean from earlier. Will you stop staring at me?" Dorothy chuckled at her friend.

"Just saying dear, I've never seen you look so out of it before." Dorothy commented. "It's adorable really."

"It's just your imagination." Relena sighed. "Though it would be nice if I could introduce myself. It seems like the right thing to do, especially since no one knows him and I heard he's been by himself most of the time."

"Seems like a perfect excuse to get the ball rolling." Dorothy winked at her friend who was in the middle of eating her plate of vegetables.

"Not like that, Dorothy…" Relena sighed.

"Stop teasing Relena, Dorothy." Quatre spoke, shaking his head at his girlfriend. "I'm sure Relena just wants to do the friendly thing and welcome him properly. Guys can be friends with girls without being attracted to each other."

"Thank you!" Relena exclaimed. "That's why you're too good for Dorothy, Quatre."

Quatre chuckled at his friend's statement.

"Hmph!" Dorothy raised her head in defiance before shaking her head at her companions. "You're both so naive!" Quatre smiled and threw an arm over his girl's shoulder to pull her in.

"Calm down." Quatre laughed.

"Oh, I'm calm. It's you two who don't seem to understand reality." Dorothy continued before finally settling into her man's embrace and sighed. "I'll never get to double date with my best friend… how cruel is life…"

Relena groaned at her friend's dramatics as she went back to finish her food. When they were done eating they all gathered their things and dumped out their trays. They were gonna head outside when Relena noticed the new student Heero Yuy leaning over the balcony. As expected, he was by himself and no one seemed to want to approach him. She didn't know why, but she thought maybe this was a good opportunity to properly greet him.

"Would you look at that, there he is." Dorothy grinned.

"So that's him, huh?" Quatre studied him.

Relena nodded. They were walking towards his direction and that's when she made her decision. "I'm gonna introduce myself." She took a deep breath and headed over to him. Dorothy and Quatre kept a distance. Dorothy was really curious to see how this played out. Quatre saw this look on his girlfriend's face and chuckled. He was sure it would be nothing but a smile greeting.

Heero had remained leaning over the stone balcony railing for most of lunch so far.. He figured maybe it would be good to see the field area before classes resumed. He was about to start heading down the stairs before a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Hello there, my name is Relena Darlian." Heero looked over his shoulder and turned slightly to see the blonde girl stand before him. She wore a friendly smile and had a pair of welcoming blue eyes. "And you're Heero correct? It's nice to meet a new classmate." she continued. "I hope you enjoy your time here."

Heero looked at her with narrowed eyes, he wasn't sure what this was all about. He didn't really want to talk to anybody. Though, the more his eyes looked at hers the more he felt like he was getting sucked into them. She had a look to her that felt safe, pure, kind and… Heero shook it off. His chest hurt for a quick second and he did not like that feeling. Not for a second. His eyes remained narrowed in on her and he recovered himself.

Relena wasn't sure what was happening, but Heero wasn't responding to her. The silence between them was getting to be a little awkward as Heero had yet to respond. "You could, uh, let me know if there's any issues you're encountering. I'm close with a lot of the staff here so I could always help out if you need me to." Still, nothing. Relena wasn't sure what she was doing wrong. He wouldn't respond to her at all and his gaze was intense and seemed hyper focused on her, like she was having hole burned into her.

She tried once again when she took off her book bag and opened it up. "I think I have a couple more that I forgot I even had…" Heero heard her muttering to herself, wondering what she was up to now. "Ah! Here, I still have one." She stood back up, this time with a fancy looking envelope. "Here, this is an invitation to my birthday party this weekend. I don't know if you're new around town, but if you'd like to be more acquainted with everyone then a lot of the students will be going. So I hope you can come by. I'm sorry if this seems so sudden." She handed him the envelope and he took it, studying it carefully before looking back at her.

Once again, she gave him a look that made his body feel like it ached. He grunted, that strange feeling was not something he wanted to experience, but the more she stood in front of him, the more damage she caused. He also started to notice a crowd gathering around them, and that really displeased Heero. It almost felt like a set-up. Whether that was the case or not, he felt uncomfortable now. So Heero did the only thing he could think of.

Like a Frisbee, he tossed her invitation over the balcony.

There were audible gasps throughout the crowd. Dorothy's jaw dropped and Quatre's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Nobody expected that. Relena had been disrespected in front of everybody and no one knew how to react, other than just stand there and be aghast at Heero's actions.

Relena's face fell. She, obviously, was taken aback at what Heero just did to her kind gesture. She was beginning to feel a little emotional because she really just wanted to be friendly with him. He had captured her attention from the moment he walked into the classroom and as she tried to make him feel welcomed, he was choosing to humiliate her instead.

She looked back at him and that same hard, fiery look was glaring back at her. She couldn't look at him anymore and hung her head with her eyes closed. "I dont understand…" she muttered as she fought back tears that threatened to fall.

Heero then moved from his position on the balcony and moved beside her where he leaned his head down, mouth meeting her ear. Relena felt him get close and her eyes snapped back open when she heard him speak for the first time. "Please, stay away from me." His voice rumbled into her ear and shook her entire body down to the core. She looked as he walked away, heading down the stairs. As she watched him leave, his words echoed again in her head.

'Please, stay away from me.' What was that supposed to mean?

She also could have sworn that she saw something about his face change as he walked away. It almost looked… remorseful? She wasn't sure what it was, but he had descended the stairs before she could get a better look.

"Wow, what an asshole! How dare he do that to Relena."

"Can you believe that kid? What a little shit."

"And to think I called him cute, like… ugh."

People were beginning to feel angry on Relena's behalf. The crowd started to get riled up, yelling and talking amongst themselves. They then circled Relena, asking her if she was okay, wondering what that kid's deal was. Relena just shook her head and told them all not to worry.

"Oooh!" Dorothy started. "The nerve of that foul creature! I cannot believe that kid. Quatre, I demand you go beat him up for Miss Relena, immediately!"

Quatre nervously chuckled. "Uh, he doesn't look like a guy I could take on. Trowa might have taken care of this though, too bad he missed the first day."

"Oh, you coward." Dorothy complained. "Yes, that is quite a shame. Would have been nice to see someone teach him a lesson."

Quatre placed a hand on Relena's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Relena nodded and took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm fine Quatre. Just a little shocked is all." She continued to look down the long stone staircase that Heero had descended. 'Who was he?' she wondered. Most girls would just keep their distance from him after an incident like that, but something about all of this just made her want to know more. Why did he act the way he did? And what was that look he gave as he took his leave. She needed to know.

Quatre studied Relena's features and knew what she was feeling. Truth be told, it made him more curious about the boy as well. He wondered if Relena saw it. That weird look of remorse as he left her standing there after tossing her invitation away into the air. He gave off a weird vibe. Like there was a reason for his actions. Quatre could feel it, but he would figure it out on his own time. He was sure Relena felt the same way.

Heero walked towards the green fields. He looked back up at all of the commotion he had caused. The image of that girl Relena's face when he threw her invitation stuck into his mind and stayed there longer than he wanted it to. It was an asshole move for him to make, but necessary all the same. He didn't need to get close to anyone here. He was just here to use their education and nothing more. They were different people from different worlds. He wanted it to remain that way

He turned and continued to walk. "I'm not involved…" He spoke to himself as he moved forward.

* * *

School went on, and all everyone kept talking about was the incident at lunch time. Heero recognized more now that people were giving him dirty looks and mean mugging him. The guys even looked like they wanted to get aggressive with him. He didn't care.

Heero had bullets shot at him before and always fought for survival. The last thing he would ever be afraid of was a bunch of rich kids at school. They could test him if they wanted to, Heero thought. Then they would know to keep their distance. Heero didn't mind getting down if it came to it. Though he would rather not have to risk expulsion. He paid too much money for this and had too much riding on it. Heero just kept moving on.

The end of the day came and everyone said their goodbyes and went on looking for their rides. Pagan pushed up in the signature pink luxury vehicle and opened the door, waiting for Relena to enter.

Relena said bye to her friends and Dorothy gave her a hug, reiterating he need to beat up the new kid. Relena smiled and shook her head at her friend. She honestly didn't like the idea of someone fighting like that on her behalf. She was a big girl, she could handle herself.

Dorothy and Quatre walked off in their own direction and Relena entered her ride. Pagan took his spot in the driver's seat and looked back at Relena through the rearview mirror. "And how was your first day back at school, Miss Relena?" The old man inquired.

At that question, images of Heero flashed into her head and she took a sharp breath before answering. "It was good." She started simply. "I'm happy to see everyone and classes should go well this year."

Pagan thought he noticed something off about Relena but didn't pry any further. "Well that's great to hear. I wish you nothing of the best of luck this year."

"Thank you as always, Pagan." Relena replied with a smile. The car was heading down the long street. She kept her eyes out towards the window. As it continued down, she noticed the bus stop had someone sitting on the bench. He was wearing her school's uniform. She wondered who took the bus at her school. Everyone had rides or their own forms of transportation. No one took the bus.

It was then that she noticed it was Heero Yuy. Sitting there hunched over with his head hung low and his bag sitting right next to him. She could barely make out his facial features as the car drove past him. She looked back out the rear window of the car, trying to see more of him before he finally disappeared from view.

So Heero took the bus to and from school? Made her wonder his family situation and where he lived. He just created more questions for her to want answers to. Who was Heero Yuy? And why was his head hung so low?

After about 20 minutes passed, the bus finally came. Heero lifted his head up and got ready to go back home. To a place where the streets were always on fire. Back to real life. He entered the bus and turned on his phone. He had messages and voicemails that he missed and needed to respond to. Business related and some from his friends back in the neighborhood. He was flipping through his phone when the events of lunch time flashed into his brain.

He shook his head. "Relena…" He said to himself, almost sounding mad at the fact that he said that name. He didn't like that one bit.

**AN: **Nothing else to say, just here, have another one. LMK what y'all think.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Hard Foul**

The Prussian eyed teen hopped off the bus, beginning his walk back home. He noticed a crowd gathered around a spot on the block. He saw cop cars and red and blue lights shining brightly. He wondered what all the commotion was about so he began to approach. It was in the same direction to his house anyway. He saw people moving, trying to get a better look at whatever was causing the whole scene. As he got closer, he recognized a familiar face.

Duo was a part of the crowd and he turned around and noticed Heero approaching. "Yo, what's good buddy?" Heero knew Duo would be around. He texted him earlier in the day while Heero was in school, saying he would meet him around his place after class wrapped up.

Heero nodded toward the scene. "And this?"

"Oh that?" Duo pointed a thumb back to the point of interest. Heero got close enough to see a body covered in a large white sheet. That pretty much told him everything. Duo and Heero kept a safe distance from the crowd to keep from being overheard. "Looks like someone owed Treize a good amount of cash." Duo muttered over to Heero.

Heero's eyes narrowed and motioned Duo to keep on moving. "Someone we know?"

The braided teen nodded as he walked away with Heero. "It was Trant. Remember him?" Heero just nodded. "Yeah, I heard a few weeks ago that he had been avoiding Treize's collectors for a few months now. Talking about how he owed Treize a little over 10 grand."

The new St. Gabriel Academy student had heard the same thing, too. To owe that much money for that amount of time was impressive in it's own weird way, Heero thought. Though it seems like Trant had abused Treize's leniency for just a bit too long.

Duo continued. "I asked around and people said they saw him walking around like he was waiting for someone. A few guys came up to him, it seemed like he knew them. They chatted for a while before some unmarked car pulled and let off a few shots. The bullets got their man and the car sped away."

"The guys that met up with him?" Heero inquired.

"I heard they skated off just before the shots were fired. Sounds like a set up if you ask me." Duo was sure of that and Heero had to agree. "Been a while since we had a body on this block, guess we were overdue for one."

"Hn." Heero kept his eyes focused and continued on.

"Anyway, onto something lighter." Duo switched subjects. "How was school? Looking real good, my man. Uniform got you looking all high class!"

Heero shook his head. If getting home excited him for anything, it was that he would be able to take off this whole get up.

"I'm serious. You already look like you're moving on up. Proud of you, bud." Heero looked over at Duo with a skeptical stare. Where was all this coming from, he wondered.

"Just doing what I set out to do." Heero shrugged.

"I know, the suit and tie look says it all." Duo chuckled as they got to Heero's building. They entered and saw people moving up and down the stairs. Heero and Duo greeted them all before they entered Heero's apartment. "What's up, uncle?" Duo addressed the old man sitting at his usual spot in the living room.

"Duo." he simply replied while waving his hand at him.

"Been good?" Duo asked.

"Always am." Uncle J grinned. "Would you look at that… Heero, you're already looking too good for this neighborhood. Heh heh." Uncle J commented on Heero's appearance. It was always hard to tell whether he was taunting or complimenting.

"Hn." Heero replied as he and Duo walked off towards Heero's room. Heero threw his bag on the floor. "Gonna change, give me a second." He dug out his usual attire and went to the bathroom to go change while Duo sat at Heero's desk, fiddling with the handgun that sat there. A few minutes passed before Heero reentered the room, taking a seat on his bed.

"Everything at school all you could have hoped for?" Duo crossed his arms as he looked over at his friend.

Shrugging was Heero's response. "It's what I need, I guess."

"Guess as long as it works out…" Duo's eyes looked up at the ceiling. "Same old shit in my school. I don't think I need to tell you that. There were like two fights that broke out and like 3 kids already got suspended."

'Same old shit indeed…' Heero's thoughts went. As weird of a first day as he had at St. Gabriel, he would much rather have to deal with that then possibly getting into fights or arguing with hate filled teachers and staff. Hell, he didn't have to worry about kids bringing weapons like they did at his old school. He didn't have enough fingers and toes to count how many times he saw that before.

"Was I right though? Were those schoolgirl uniforms looking good?" Duo said with a smirk on his face. Heero remembered their uniforms having this burgundy color with skirts that reached well below the ankles. Heero didn't really care what the girl's uniforms looked like, but he knew that what Duo was thinking about probably didn't match the reality.

"Nothing I was concerned about." Heero muttered as he sighed, leaning over as he sat on his mattress.

"Well yeah, I figured that. But I was!" Duo shook his head. "You're no fun." Heero grunted at him. "You're my boy, it's normal to talk about chicks with your friends."

Heero gave him a funny look. "Aren't you spoken for?"

"Doesn't mean I can't still talk about chicks. I'm no cheater, but I can still admire." Duo chuckled. "So no ladies caught your attention? Not one?"

That's when that scene played out in his head again.

'_Hello there, my name is Relena Darlian'_

"_Here, this is an invitation to my birthday party this weekend' _

'_I don't understand…' _

'_Please, stay away from me'_

Heero hesitated before answering. "No, not one." he shook his head.

Duo thought he saw something weird about him when he answered but decided not to pry any further. "Alright, well for your sake I'd like to see that change."

Heero raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh don't give me that look. Last thing you want is to end up like Wufei. Constantly complaining about women. Both of you would do well getting a girl, it would help you guys relax a little."

Heero wasn't buying that. He didn't need a girl in his life. Not right now, not when he had a mission to accomplish. "No need."

Duo sighed. "Alright, I know better than to try and convince you. But you should still give it a thought. No one really likes being alone. Just makes life harder, especially when it's guys like us living how we live."

Heero watched his friend intently as he spoke.

"I mean yeah me and Hilde ain't perfect, but I still wouldn't trade in what we have for anything in the world. I'll tell ya, life would be a whole lot more miserable if she weren't around. She keeps me grounded and isn't afraid to call me out and knock me down a peg or two. Men like us need to be humbled every now and then." Duo laughed as he thought of all the times he and Hilde got into it. "As much as we'd like to think we have all the answers, it's always good to be reminded that we don't. We need to know when to reach out for help, and because we're guys and have that silly thing called pride that blinds us, we never know when to suck it up and just accept a helping hand. That's what Hilde taught me anyway, hope you can find someone who can do the same for you."

Heero wasn't quite sure how to respond to his friends words. Heero didn't think that he had all the answers, but he wasn't convinced that having a significant other would do him any good either. Besides, he had already made up his mind about that. Complete the mission, no distractions allowed. And girls definitely fell into the category of distractions. "Not interested."

"Yeah I figured you'd say that." Duo slumped into his seat, disappointed to not get anything out of Heero. "Well at any rate…" Duo stood up. "Trying to hoop?"

"Money involved?"

"Always is." Duo smirked.

Heero and Duo always made a nice pair running two on two basketball games for money at the local courts. They've hustled many men out of their funds.

"Okay, let me get my shorts."

* * *

Elsewhere across town, in a much much less downtrodden area, Relena Darlian sat by her window, overlooking her wide open backyard. It looked like you could fit a football field and a half out there. That wasn't even counting the space beyond the mass of trees that acted like a border. She needed to look out there. She sat huddled with her arms hugging her knees, mind still thinking about earlier that day.

It was silly for her to be so distracted about the actions of some boy, but it wasn't like anything she ever experienced before. Almost everyone tried their best to make a good impression on her, or they all wanted to be her friend. This was the first time she really faced this kind of rejection before.

Not that Relena felt entitled to people's kindness, she just never expected anything like this. But now that she had a little more time to let it all sink in, the more she thought about his side of things.

Heero Yuy. That was his name.

She would admit, not to Dorothy, of course, that yes Heero Yuy was a very handsome boy. His striking features is what caught her attention in the first place. But what caused him to react so strangely to her? Did she offend him in any way? She didn't think she did anything wrong, but maybe Heero saw something about how she approached him that didn't send the right signal.

The more she tried to reason it out, the more frustrated she got. What was that kid's deal? Whatever it was, she just had to find out. She didn't care if that meant it would ruin any chance of them being friends, the important part was that she at least understood him. It's one thing to be hated, it's another thing to be hated without knowing why. She could only hope that things would work out well for the both of them.

Relena never went into anything with bad intentions. She wanted Heero to know that, even if it meant he would like her even less. She sighed, deciding to get back to going through some school related assignments. She couldn't let her head be dominated by thoughts of a boy all night.

Though in this situation, that was going to be a tall order.

She went back to her papers, all the while fighting off visions of intense Prussian eyes.

* * *

The next day came and school filled up with eager students once more. As usual Relena and Dorothy led the pack and went on to start the day with their first class. Which they both knew was one they shared with a certain now-infamous member of the student body.

When Heero entered, everyone looked at him with great contempt. Heero felt the hate but he didn't let it get to him. Relena sucked in her breath and looked down at her desk, not wanting to make any eye contact at that moment. Heero gave her a quick look before taking his seat and focusing his eyes forward.

Relena exhaled and heard everyone in class as they muttered their curses in relation to Heero. Dorothy didn't hold back either, as she just shook her head at his presence. "Can't believe we have to share a class with this creep…" Relena heard her say.

She heard even more meaner words and taunts. She looked over at Heero's sitting figure, wondering if this affected him in any way whatsoever. It seemed like it didn't, but even so, regardless of what he did to her it wasn't right to have all of this abuse piled up on him. He was a loner, she could clearly see and that meant whatever he faced here he faced it on his own. That would be hard for anyone their age.

"Can we see if we can get him transferred to a different class or something, Relena?" she heard a girl whisper from behind her.

Relena looked back and shook her head. "It's fine, no need to be so drastic. I'm over it."

The girl was a little taken aback at what Relena said but begrudgingly accepted it. The class went on and everything resumed. She still heard her classmates cursing Heero's name and she hoped that Heero would be fine. She really disliked the idea of people piling up on him because they were trying to defend her honor.

A couple more classes passed by, and it seemed like with the exception of the first period, she didn't have any other class with him. Maybe PE, but they hadn't gotten there yet. Relena was running a little late to her next class, she had to pick up some things from the library and was now rushing downstairs to her next class.

That was when she turned down the staircase and saw him.

As she was about to descend, he was heading up. She froze. Heero looked up and noticed her when he heard her gasp. His head snapped up and he hesitated, his eyes narrowed, knowing he did not want to see her of all people. They had a bit of a staring contest before anyone did anything. Blue eyes clashed with blue eyes. One pair looked on with a hardened glare, while the other pair was cautious and unsure.

Eventually, Heero sighed and began moving on up, eyes now looking past her. Relena swallowed hard as he came walking up the stairs.

"Um, hey Heero. Look, I'm sorry if I offended you or made you feel uncomfortable yesterday… it wasn't my intention." This caused Heero to stutter step for a second. She was apologizing to him? That didn't make any sense. He shook it off and kept walking up. "I'm hoping that we could start all over again. A clean slate, is that… all… right…?" Heero just walked past her as she spoke, continuing up the stairs. "Um, Heero?"

The brown haired boy just looked back down at her. His piercing stare causing her to shudder. "I told you already, stay away." Heero turned and continued upward.

"But… why? Tell me, Heero!" Relena begged. She got no response and heard as he went through the doors. She sighed and looked down at her shoes. "I just… want to know what I did..."

On the staircase below her, a kid with green eyes and one half of his face covered by his hair leaned on the stair railing. He heard everything and knew the context. "Hm, interesting. I might have to meet this Heero guy myself." He put his hands in his pockets and descended the stairs.

* * *

During lunch time, Heero walked around the empty hallways. He didn't feel like eating so he strayed from the cafeteria and away from other people. He didn't want to be outside either. He knew a lot kids would be out there as well. The more alone time he could get here, the better. He especially didn't need that girl to come over bugging him again.

She was a strange one, Heero thought to himself. Why on earth would she feel the need to apologize? He was the one that disrespected her. It was such a bizarre concept. Were the roles reversed then there would be no way that Heero would be telling anyone he was sorry. He didn't get it at all.

Again, she invaded his thoughts and again it irritated him. He grunted and kept moving. As he kept walking down the halls he noticed a guy leaning on the lockers. Arms crossed and looking ahead. Heero didn't remember seeing him before. His face was half covered by his unique head of hair. They were the only two in the hallway.

Heero raised an eyebrow at this but kept it going. Eventually he passed the kid and as he got about 7 feet away from him, he heard him speak.

"So, you're Heero Yuy. You've made quite a name for yourself here already." the emerald eye kid started.

Heero stopped but didn't bother looking back.

"Heard about what happened yesterday from Quatre." the kid continued. Again, Heero didn't bother looking back at him. "Kind of a mean thing to do don't you think? Relena is a nice person. You could've just said you didn't want to go and be done with it."

Heero finally looked over his shoulder, glaring at the kid with eyes telling him to leave him alone. The other student wasn't phased one bit.

"My names Trowa Barton. Just wanted to introduce myself to the most infamous person at school."

Heero looked away again. "Are you done?" Heero kept walking on.

Trowa shrugged. "I guess. Though make sure you treat Relena with a little more respect next time." he said with a calm demeanor. "She's a really good friend and I'd hate to actually have to do something more drastic later if your questionable actions continue."

That got Heero to stop once more. He turned around with a grin on his face. "You would go that far huh?" This annoyed Heero, but at the same time he was ready to throw down if need be. And this Trowa guy looked like he might actually pose a challenge. There was something about him that demanded a little more, say, respect then the other guys in this school.

"I don't really want to." Trowa continued. He got off the lockers and started heading towards Heero's direction. "But like I said, I consider Relena close and for my friends, i'll do what has to be done."

Heero watched him approach. "She your girlfriend or something?"

Trowa paused for a second with an amused smirk. "No, nothing like that. A lot of people here get that idea about us. Honestly, I can't see her as nothing more than a friend. Always have."

"Hn." Heero's eyes were trained on him as he moved next to him.

"I don't know where you come from or why you're here, but it also doesn't matter. None of that is my business." Trowa said, standing next to Heero. "I'd like you to do your best here though. So, I'll wish you the best of luck this year. And again, be nice to Relena. She just wants to know you better and be friendly with everyone. It's really easy to hurt a woman's feelings, you know." Trowa finished as he looked into Heero's wild glare. 'Quatre was right' Trowa thought. 'There's something about this guy's look that feels heavy. I wonder where that comes from…'

"Hn." Heero grunted. He wasn't sure what to do with that kind of information.

"Well, maybe we can be on good terms, too, someday." Trowa added as he started walking off. "See you around, Heero."

Heero watched him walk off. He would give him credit, it wasn't often some guy would try to confront him one on one. Trowa didn't come off as threatening, but he did give off the vibe that he would change if the situation called for it. Heero sighed and turned around, heading towards the opposite direction this time.

* * *

"So Quatre told me that Trowa spoke with Heero." Dorothy spoke as they finished getting changed for PE.

Relena turned her head quickly to hear what else Dorothy had to say. "Really?"

"Yup." Dorothy smirked. "Guess they met during lunch time."

"Well what happened?" Relena really wanted to hear about this meeting.

"I guess nothing crazy, or else we would have heard about it by now." Dorothy and Relena finished changing and head out. They were in the gymnasium, on the second floor specifically overlooking the basketball court downstairs. "Quatre told me he just introduced himself, wanted to get to know him a little better. He didn't get much out of him, but said they reached some kind of understanding."

"Trowa usually tries to take the higher ground." Relena sighed, glad that nothing went wrong with their encounter.

"Not the road I would have taken, but oh well." Dorothy responded with a shrug.

Relena chuckled and nodded. Dorothy was not shy of confrontation at all.

"Wow, look at him go. I mean I heard he's an asshole but man he can really play!"

Relena and Dorothy heard this and looked down to see what that comment was about. That's when she noticed that there was a five on five basketball game being played down there. And it looked like Heero was playing.

And it looked like he was dominating.

Heero played with great ferocity. His dribbling and ball handling ability befuddled his opponents. It was almost as if he was able to get to the hoop at will. No amount of great defense played could stop him. He was on a mission. He took it to the hole, not finding it difficult to get a lay up. He got open shots and even created some shots for other teammates. He was unlike anything they had seen on the court before.

He started attracting a crowd the more the game went and that caused more students to spectate. Heero didn't want this attention but he also knew when he was in the zone. He knew he could play ball well, but never thought he was super great or anything. He just had a lot of experience playing with guys on the street. Guys who were really good but could never make it out of the neighborhood and the guys he was playing against right now just weren't as good as the street kids were.

This started to frustrate his opponents who didn't like him already. They were yelling at each other, irritated that nobody could stop him. All of them accusing each other of not playing defense hard enough or just not being good in general.

Heero ignored them and continued to attack, scoring long range shots back to back and getting oohs and ahhs from the crowd. Even the students who despised him were impressed. Relena came walking downstairs and everybody made way for her and Dorothy by the court-side.

Relena watched Heero play. She didn't know too much of basketball, but she had obviously seen it played before. And she had never seen anyone play harder than Heero. His ferocious playing style matched the intensity he gave off. She noticed how focused he seemed. Like he had no other objective than to get things done. Her eyes shook as she watched him, not knowing how someone could be so fierce and at that speed. Heero said he wanted her to stay away but when he made her look at him differently than anybody else at school, he kind of made that difficult.

It was then that one blonde haired kid on the opposing team noticed Relena watching. He thought about something he could do to get in her good graces and then an idea popped into his head. He would teach the guy who hurt Relena a lesson.

As Heero was walking the ball up the court he noticed a switch in defenders. It wasn't anything to worry about, he had been killing them all game long. Any strategy they had was useless against him. It was an arrogant thought, Heero noted, but it's not like he they were proving him wrong or anything. Heero just shrugged and noticed the blonde haired kid come up to defend him. Heero faked right but went left.

The blonde haired kid almost tripped but surprisingly recovered and ran quickly along with Heero. He knew Heero was about to run past him so he acted fast and hip checked Heero as hard as he could, sending Heero flying out of bounds and into a bunch of sports equipment. The foul was as flagrant as it could get and everybody looked on in shock.

Even the ones that didn't like Heero were questioning whether that had gone too far.

"Oh my god!" Relena exclaimed with a gasp, her hands raised to her mouth, hoping that Heero had been okay. Even Dorothy watched with raised eyebrows, very surprised that someone actually took action against Heero. She felt a little bad about that because she knew she was one of the people who wanted something to be done against him.

Heero grunted in a little bit of pain but was able to sit up. He should have seen that coming. He cursed his own incompetence for failing to see that. He sat hunched over looking at the crowd, hating to see him be such of a spectacle for everyone to watch. He felt a crawling sensation on his arm and noticed he had acquired a nasty cut and was now bleeding. He sighed, leaning his head back to look up towards the ceiling.

"He's bleeding!" Heero heard a familiar voice cry out. He looked and noticed her. Everyone was still, looking stunned. Except for her.

Relena ran to a nearby closet. People were confused as to what she was doing. That's when she ran over from that closet over to Heero with a first aid kit. Heero watched her, looking a little confused.

She rushed to his side and opened up the kit. "Just stay still, okay? I'll take care of this." Relena applied disinfecting wipes and alcohol on his wounds, she wiped up the blood that had trickled down on his arm. She could feel Heero pull back, clearly not wanting her help but she kept a strong grasp on him. "Please, let me help you!" Her eyes matched his and she had a fire in them that he didn't know she was capable of producing.

For whatever reason, Heero felt himself give up the struggle and just watched her as she took care of him. "Are you hurting?" She asked as she was wrapping up the wound.

"I'm fine… not sure why you're doing this." Heero responded. "It doesn't hurt."

"I'm sure you're tough and all but we can't have you bleeding all over the place." Relena explained. "There, can you stand?"

Of course he could stand, that was a ridiculous question. And without letting go of his arm they both rose to their feet. The people were confused as they watched them interact. Not getting why Relena would do that for someone who embarrassed her the day before.

They both looked at each other, eyes locked. They didn't know how to continue and as Relena felt herself getting lost in his blue colored gaze, her cheeks burned for a second. She turned away. Heero also felt a little awkward, rubbing the back of his neck.

She looked away from him but something about her made him want to see her eyes once more. He wanted to know why she would do this. Her kindness was irrational, he thought. But he needed to see if her eyes held any answers for her strange behavior.

At least that's what he thought he wanted.

After a few more seconds of uncomfortable silence. Heero began to walk away. "Thanks…" He didn't get far though. Her grasp was still on his arm and she didn't let go. Heero looked back at her. He just looked at honey blonde hair. "You can let go now…" He looked at her confused.

Relena took a deep breath before turning to face him. "Let me take you to the nurse's office."

Heero shook his head. "Unnecessary." Heero responded, trying to get away again. She didn't let go. Heero could easily tear his arm away from her, but something about this situation kept him from being rough with her.

"You have to let me do this." Relena replied. Her eyes were wide and genuine. Heero flinched at her look.

"I'm fine, seriously. You're being ridiculous." Heero tried again.

"No, i'm not. That was a nasty cut and I want to make sure you're alright."

"Why does that matter to you?" Heero shot back.

"Because…" Relena didn't know exactly how to answer that. She knew she wanted him to be well, and that maybe she could talk to him a little more and get the answers she wanted from the beginning. But maybe there was more that she wasn't letting on. "It just does, Heero." Her voice took a softer tone.

Heero flinched again at the sound of his name coming out of her mouth. He felt weak almost. What in the world was happening to him, he wondered.

He noticed people were still watching them. They were making a scene and both of them just realized that. Relena blushed while Heero grunted. They both wanted to get out of there.

Dorothy was looking on with great amusement. 'Back on track.' the platinum blonde noted as she watched the pair.

Heero finally took his arm away from Relena and began walking away. Relena sighed, she guessed he wasn't accepting her help. She was very disappointed. But she knew he was tough, so she could at least be okay with him taking care of himself.

Heero stopped for a second and looked over his shoulder. "I… don't know where the nurse's office is."

Relena looked at him with wide blue eyes and smiled. "Well, I do."

"Can you… show me?" Heero looked away, not feeling comfortable in asking, but he couldn't stop himself. He felt like he would regret this.

Relena nodded and moved in front of him. "Sure. Follow me."

Heero nodded and took her lead. They walked out of the gym together and the kid who committed the flagrant foul was standing there absolutely astonished. That plan backfired amazingly. That's when he was hit with a chorus of boos and jeers. His teammates even throwing their jerseys at him.

Trowa was hanging out on the second floor, he watched everything that took place from the foul onward. He chuckled and shook his head. "That was quite the show. Gonna be a fun year, I think."

**AN: **Maybe the quickest 4 chapters I've ever written. Just have to work when you have the inspiration I guess! Let me know how the story is going so far. I'm still not sure what to think of it, but I know I like writing it and want to continue. This fandom has long since died out but Gundam Wing deserves to always be remembered. So give some feedback if you want. I'm just having fun as always.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Let's Start Over**

"Well, everything seems to be fine." Nurse Sally Po said, smiling at the pair before her. "Relena did a pretty good job treating your wound, I hope you thanked her." she added, addressing the frowning boy named Heero Yuy.

"Hn." Heero just sat on the bed they had for Sally's patients. As he had expected, this actually was a waste of time. Relena had already done most of the work treating him and all the Nurse did was basically approve of it. He really did regret coming here. Why did he agree to this in the first place?

"Thank you, Sally." Relena stood by Heero. "I just wanted to make sure he was okay."

"It's alright, I get it." Sally winked at Relena, causing the younger girl to sigh. "Anyway, I have my break coming up. I'll see you crazy kids later." Sally turned away from them and headed off.

"Well, I guess everything checks out." Relena spoke. "Are you sure you're completely fine?"

Heero was rubbing his eyes. Her concern was starting to really bug him now. "Yes… enough already."

"I know, sorry." Relena smiled lightly. She was sure she was starting to irritate him with her constant worrying. "And I apologize for what that guy did to you, that wasn't right. Are you sure you don't want me to do anything about him?"

Heero shook his head. If they were in the streets and that happened, then Heero would make sure that he had his foot down that kid's ass. Truth be told, he would have liked to be locked in a room with him. He would teach that guy a lesson he would never forget. But he wasn't in a place where he could do that. He made the choice to be on his best behavior. He had to admit, sometimes it was hard to do so and a situation like this would test him. He wouldn't retaliate, but not because he didn't want to.

"It's kind of disturbing to know some people are acting this way because they think they're doing me a favor." Relena sighed and took a seat next to Heero on the bed. "They really need to get over what you did."

Oh yeah, He made himself a target for what he did yesterday. "Brought it on myself." Heero plainly stated. "I'll deal with it."

"You shouldn't have to." Relena looked at him, he had his head low, eyes almost completely covered by his brown bangs. She almost wanted to move them to the side to see his face better. This thought caused Relena's chest to pound a little. She kept her composure though.

"It's my fault. You're popular and I threw your invitation away." Heero explained. "Can't say I didn't ask for it."

"You didn't ask for it. What you did was an action against me, not the whole student body." Relena shot back. "Which again, I'm sorry for whatever I did yesterday."

There she went apologizing for nothing at all. Heero didn't see any logic in that. He made the asshole move, not her. It annoyed him greatly and he needed to kill that noise. "Will you stop that?" He looked over at her, his eyes looking at her harshly.

"Stop what?" Relena looked back at him defensively, feeling the scrutiny of his gaze.

"Saying sorry for something I did." Heero didn't understand how she didn't get that.

"Well I don't know why you responded the way you did so I had to figure something in my approach caused you to react that way." Relena wasn't sure how else to go about the situation.

She did nothing wrong, Heero knew that. He was trying to keep everyone away and didn't like the crowd she had inadvertently gathered. So he chose to shit on her act of kindness. Heero sighed. "Honestly, you did nothing wrong." Heero hated that he was even getting into this conversation.

"Are you sure?" Relena didn't know if she bought that.

"Yes, I'm sure." He replied.

"Then do you mind if I ask why you responded to me like that?"

Heero didn't know how to answer her. He didn't want to say the truth because that would lead to him having to explain why he wanted to keep people away, and he had already felt like he had spoken too much anyway.

Relena looked at him intently, curious to know his reason. She could tell he was thinking about his response. She waited to see what he would say.

Heero ran a hand through his hair, keeping his eyes away from her. "I'm not good at meeting new people. So I panicked."

"Is that really it?" Relena wondered if there was more to it than that. She wouldn't pry though. She was already getting more out of Heero than she thought she would get.

"Yeah, that's all." Heero nodded. "I'm sorry…" He frowned. He didn't intend to apologize to her, but it just came out. His body had been acting on it's own a lot these past two days. He wasn't liking it.

Relena smiled. "It's alright. Truth be told I had already forgiven you not that long after you did that."

He turned to look at her. Relena saw clearly that he was confused by her statement. She chuckled and continued to look at him. He looked kind of cute when he seemed flummoxed. She felt his eyes searching hers and they spent one too many seconds looking at each other before Relena blushed and looked away.

Heero kept looking at her. She was a strange girl. How someone could be so forgiving and so… kind, he would never understand. Were there really people like her in this world? Heero wasn't used to anyone acting like this. His eyes studied her some more. Her honey blonde hair cascading around her blush tinted face. Her blue eyes looking downward. He almost wanted to move his hand through her hair and see more of her fair skinned facial features. These foreign thoughts made him shake his head, as if trying to get rid of that idea. He looked down and saw her hands move nervously. Then he noticed something that raised an eyebrow.

He looked over to the side where there was a medical table and reached for something. Relena was keeping her eyes low. Kind of shocked at how long they had spent together already. Her body was feeling funny. Maybe it was time to leave, she thought. She would say bye to Heero and head back to the gym to change back into her regular uniform. She needed to be alone to compose herself.

"Heero I-" However, before she could continue with her goodbye, she felt him take her hands. She let out a slight gasp and her eyes widened. Her body froze and her face became flushed again. Heero let out a "Hn." before she realized that he was using a disinfectant wipe on her. "H-Heero…?"

The brown haired teen wasn't sure he was doing the right thing for himself, but he felt like this was something he had to do. "My blood… there was some that got on your hands from when you were wrapping my cut." Relena was so caught up in the moments following Heero's injury that she didn't even realize that she had gotten some of his blood on her. His touch was warm, she noted. He held her hands firmly. He wasn't rough or anything though. She simply watched as he continued to wipe away before he eventually finished. Heero let her go, threw away the wipes and Relena's hands felt like they weren't yet ready to be released. She opened and closed her hands repeatedly, still taken aback by the contact. She blinked a few times and then looked at Heero as he stood up. "Sorry for getting that on you."

"Um, no… it's fine." Relena's eyes focused up at him. "I didn't even notice. Thank you."

Heero Yuy was unsure where to go on from here. His hands felt strange after doing that and his chest started to feel like it was caving in on itself. There his body went again. "Come on. Next period is gonna start soon."

Relena nodded, knowing she had to change out of her shorts, sneakers and t-shirt soon. She got up and followed behind Heero as they exited Sally's office's.

"Um, I'm going to the bathroom first so I, uh, guess I'll see you around." Relena stated. Heero looked down at her and nodded. As he was about to turn and walk away, Relena continued. "Heero, so how about we start over?" Heero looked at her questioningly. She stuck her arm out for a handshake. "My name is Relena Darlian. What's yours?"

She really was weird, he thought. Heero looked at her warm, smiling face and then at her hand. He would choose to humor her and reached out to shake her hand. "Heero Yuy…"

Relena chuckled. "Well, nice to meet you Heero Yuy. I hope we can become friends. Take care." She let go of him and ran off towards the bathroom.

He watched as she left him and mentally cursed himself. He was failing his mission of not getting involved, and it was only his second day. He felt weak. He turned and headed for the nearest stairs, though not before looking back once more to see… but she had already disappeared.

Relena entered the bathroom and backed herself into the wall. Her heart was racing a mile a minute. She put a hand to her chest, trying to calm herself down. "What's happening to me?" she whispered to herself. She moved to the sink and began washing her face, trying to calm herself down. She wiped her face dry and looked at her reflection in the mirror. "Heero…" she said to herself. "Just… who are you? And what is this feeling?"

* * *

The rest of the day went on as usual and classes ended for the day. Everyone started exiting the building, ready to go home.

"So, are you gonna tell me what happened or what?" Dorothy asked, eager to probe her friend for info before separating for the day.

"Nothing really, we just got him checked up and that was that." Relena answered, not getting too deep into it.

"Oh come on, I saw how you two were looking at each other. There has to be more to it than that."

Relena shook her head. "No, it kind of ends there." she shrugged. As they were leaving the building, Relena couldn't help herself but to look around and see if there was any sign of him. As she expected, he was nowhere to be found, probably halfway to the bus stop already.

"You're lying, but you know what, I'll let it slide for now. I can be patient. I'll get all my answers when we go for our long overdue double date." Relena rolled her eyes. "Though I guess I'll have to learn to get used to his absolutely rotten attitude."

"Stop, Dorothy." Relena responded. "He's actually a very nice guy, invitation throwing notwithstanding."

'Gotcha!' Dorothy grinned. "Oh, is he now? Care to elaborate? I have yet to see this 'nice guy' Heero."

"He's just nice, nothing else to say." Relena sighed. They were outside now and she could see Pagan already waiting for her.

"There's absolutely more to say and you're holding back valuable information, Miss Relena." Dorothy watched her friend move ahead and approach her ride.

"You'll do okay without it." Relena smiled as she entered the vehicle.

"Ah, so there is more!" The pink car door closed.

Pagan bowed. "Miss Dorothy."

"Pagan." Dorothy smiled at the old servant. He got into the driver's seat and they sped off. Dorothy sighed. She didn't get what she wanted out of her stubborn friend but she could at least take solace in the fact that there was something going on. She would see things progress sooner or later. She just had to be patient. "Now, where's Quatre?" Dorothy walked off to find her man.

The rest of the school week continued without incident. Heero showed up to school and handled his business. Relena would do the same. They weren't good friends all of a sudden, but at least whenever they would see each other in the hallways, or even at lunch, they would at least acknowledge the other's presence. Heero would nod at the girl while Relena gave a simple smile and a head nod. That's where they were in their relationship. Which was something considering how they started off on day one.

People noticed this and started to lay off Heero. There were still kids who were unsure of him, but they would have to deal with it. Besides, most of them were concentrating on Relena's birthday party happening tomorrow.

"Your dad showing up?" Trowa Barton asked as he leaned on the locker next to Relena's.

"Still don't know…" Relena shook her head as she grabbed her things for the next period.

"He's been gone this whole week right?"

"Yeah…" Relena hated thinking about her father and it sucked even more with her birthday party only 24 hours away.

"Well he is a busy guy." Trowa reasoned, knowing that was the last thing she wanted to hear.

Relena closed her locker and sighed. "Yup… I know." Trowa had seen that look of disappointment before.

"It's always hard for those in his position." He explained, walking side by side with Relena as they moved on. "Though he could stand to use more vacation time with you and your mother."

"Yeah well, I've told him that." Relena looked down. The possibility of her father not being at her party was too much to ignore. She couldn't get excited to finally settle on a dress to wear. She had a bunch sent in and she and Dorothy were to take their pick at Relena's house later that night. And her father was taking a lot of the fun out of that. Was it really too much to have your dad around for your own birthday party?

Trowa noticed her face fall a little and decided to switch gears. "How's our new friend been?"

Relena looked up at Trowa. "You mean Heero?" The emerald eyed boy nodded.

"He seems fine." She shrugged.

"Getting a little more comfortable here?"

"I guess so. It's hard to tell with someone like him." Relena wondered how things were going for Heero Yuy. They hadn't talked much after their time spent in Sally's office. They kept their interactions to simple greeting gestures. Though each time they passed each other she couldn't help but feel a bit funny. "He's always so intense." There really was no better word to describe him.

"Well if you don't know how he's doing then no one does." Trowa replied. "Though he strikes me as the kind of guy who can handle himself. I'm sure he's good."

"You're probably right." Relena smiled. Heero would be good with or without her, she was sure. It would, however, be nice if they could become actual friends. Being alone had to get old, even for Heero she thought. She was curious as to how he became the way he was. She wanted to know more. There wasn't a bigger enigma in all her life than him. He was a whole new world and she didn't mind exploring if he gave her the chance.

Trowa looked at her, smirking because he knew this was a different kind of smile she was producing. Even though he wasn't pursuing Relena, there was a time when he would have liked to be the reason she smiled. It never got to that point, and it definitely wasn't going to now. It was alright, as long as she was happy, he thought.

She would probably be happier if Heero showed up to her party. Might make up for her possibly losing time with her father.

* * *

"Hey do you remember where Relena's party was going to be? I can't find my invitation! I swear I just had it." one girl asked her friend as the hallways cleared.

"I have mine on me, I'll just tell you were it is!" the other girl responded as they ran off to their next classroom.

Heero watched the girls take off as he walked on. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Something sticking out under the lockers. He stopped and moved over to see what it was. He took a knee and picked it up.

An envelope.

To Relena's birthday party tomorrow. He stood up and studied it. He knew there would be a ton of people there. Definitely not a crowd he wanted to be a part of. He was curious however about what that kind of party would look like. All he knew was grimey house parties where he was mostly interested in making deals. However these parties went, he knew it was different than what he knew.

He walked over to a trash can, thinking about throwing the thing away. As he was about to do so, the image of Relena's shocked face from their first meeting flashed into his head and he stopped himself. He wasn't tossing it away in front of her face like last time, but disposing of it made him feel like he was doing it all over again. He frowned, hating this form of weakness he was displaying.

He looked at the invitation again. This time images of his second day at school invaded his thoughts.

Relena taking care of his wound. Following her to Nurse Sally's office, losing himself in her wide blue eyes, wanting to reach out to feel her hair, holding her hands to clean them and finally their reintroduction to each other. They hadn't talked much since then, but she still popped up in his head every now and then. Even at home he couldn't get away from it. It was frustrating him immensely. Why did she take up any kind of real estate in his thoughts? It wasn't fair.

"Hn." Heero muttered. With the envelope still in hand he walked off. He was gonna be late for class if he stood out here some more. He threw the invitation into his back pocket and started moving.

Little did Heero know, but Trowa Barton had watched him struggle with the invitation. He wore a smirk the entire time.

* * *

The day was over. He was one of the first people outside of the school building. His last class was close to the doors, so he was glad he was able to beat the crowds that piled up and head straight for the bus stop. He felt drops of water hit his head. He looked up and cursed himself for forgetting that it was supposed to rain today. He forgot to buy an umbrella. He would have to grab one later. He sighed and walked to his stop.

After a 5 minute walk, he took the spot on the bench. The rain had picked up and he got a bit soaked. He would have to remember to wash his uniform again.

He wondered what the weekend had in store for him. He knew that a party was happening at Hilde's building. Duo would obviously be there. So would Wufei. He figured that's where he would be. Then he remembered the envelope in his back pocket.

He chuckled to himself. Even if he wanted to go, he had nothing to wear. He had to imagine big fancy places were strict about clothing. He had nothing party appropriate. And he didn't want to waste money on a tux or whatever it was rich guys wore. He wouldn't even know where to get one.

He didn't even know why he was wasting time thinking about it.

Heero ran a hand through his wet, brown mane and waited for the bus. As he did, he noticed a high end, pink colored vehicle slow down by him. Who was this he wondered. The back window began rolling down to reveal Relena smiling at him.

"Hey, it's a bit wet out today. Need a ride?" she kindly offered.

Heero was surprised to see her, and even more surprised that she was out here offering him a ride. He shook his head. "I'm okay, thanks."

"Are you sure? We don't mind dropping you off anywhere you want to go." Relena continued, knowing he would probably refuse her.

"Thanks, but i'll be alright.." came his flat response. He thought he saw some disappointment in her eyes but didn't want to think too much of it.

"Well, suit yourself." Relena continued to smile at him, their eyes clashing once more. Their bodies feeling fuzzy the same way they did in Sally's office. "Take care of yourself, Heero." Relena figured now would be the time to get away.

Relena rolled up her window and the pink car rolled away.

Heero watched her go. Very few people had ever made him feel any kind of self doubt. In many ways, she was a dangerous girl. He hoped he could find some sort of defense for her. Because right now, he was failing himself.

**AN: **Here's another. Let me know what you think. I thought it was a meh kinda chapter, but I wanted to get it out there anyway. Appreciate any feedback or whatever. Love you all.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Surprise**

"Do you think this one is too revealing?"

Relena watched as Dorothy modeled a tight fitting, low cut, short skirted black dress in front of a body length mirror in Relena's room. She gave her friend a funny smile before nodding. "Yes, I do."

"Hmm…" Dorothy viewed herself in a couple different angles before putting her hands on her hips and smirking. "You're right. I pick this one." Relena chuckled, she saw that coming. "Quatre won't be able to take his eyes off me." Relena could already see a red faced Quatre struggling to keep his cool around his girlfriend at the party.

Relena sat on a loveseat she had in her room, legs tucked underneath her. The king sized bed she owned had dresses covering it. They got to try all of them on before they chose their fit for tomorrow. Relena had her much more modest blue colored, ankle length dress that she settled on spread out next to her. It wasn't too flashy but that's how Relena preferred it. She liked the look, It fit well and was comfortable. She didn't need much else, nor did she have a boyfriend that she wanted to tease like Dorothy.

Satisfied with her look, Dorothy made space to take her seat on the bed. "Excited, Miss Relena?"

Relena gave her friend a weak smile. "I guess so."

"You guess so? Uh oh, are we well dear?" Dorothy asked, her forked eyebrows raising.

"Oh you know, the usual." Relena shrugged.

"You haven't heard from your father recently?"

"We actually spoke early in the week, he still didn't know for sure if he could make it." Relena sighed, recalling her quick conversation with her father through the phone. She readied herself for disappointment, but it was still hard to take.

"Ah, I see." Dorothy nodded. "Well let's cross our fingers and hope for the best, dear. Maybe he'll surprise us and show up when you least expect it."

"I think at this point that's the only thing I could hope for." Relena let out a dry chuckle.

"Either way, we will all be there, making sure you have fun regardless of his presence." Dorothy grinned at her morose friend, trying her best to cheer her up. "If you want, I can try and sneak in a little wine, what do you say?" the platinum blonde winked.

Relena shook her head and smirked. "Trying to get me in trouble?"

"Well i'm the one risking trouble, you know Quatre wants no part of any alcoholic drink." Dorothy said, referring to her boyfriend's religion. "Poor man, he'll be sober while having to deal with a drunken Dorothy Catalonia for the rest of his life. Oh, dearest Quatre…" Relena laughed at the platinum blonde, already feeling more sympathy for Dorothy's significant other. "You would do well to have someone who wouldn't mind scraping you off the floor after getting hammered." Relena rolled her eyes, 'Here we go again' the honey blonde thought.

"I don't get hammered." Relena shot back.

"But you could still use a man." Dorothy returned.

"Dorothy…" Relena sighed, resting her head back.

"Do you think Heero Yuy will show up?" Dorothy looked up, wondering out loud. She was hoping to get a little more out of her friend in regards to the strange new student. Dorothy saw how she acted when Heero was the subject, so she knew she had to have some fun with this.

'Heero…' His name echoed in Relena's head. "I doubt it. Remember, he threw my invitation away."

"Your party is the talk of the entire school. I'm sure he knows the details. Maybe he'll make a surprise visit." Dorothy looked over at Relena, winking devilishly at her. "He'll come in, sweep you off your feet and take you home for the night where you both can share this incredibly comfortable bed together. Such a beautiful thought, no?"

Relena's eyes widened at what her friend was implying. "Dorothy!" The platinum blonde laughed. Relena blushed and shook her head. "I don't even think we're at a point where we can even be called friends. I doubt he's gonna show up."

"Well you're the closest he has to a friend at school. At least he acknowledges your existence." Dorothy tapped her finger on her chin. "But you're probably right. He does have that antisocial personality that's gonna be hard to crack through. You've got your work cut out for you, Miss Relena."

"I'm not trying to crack through anything." Relena explained, now laying sideways with her head on the armrest. "I would like to be his friend, sure. But I also don't want to come off like I'm forcing it, either."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe a man like him would appreciate a little more aggression? He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who goes for weak women, Miss Relena. At least I don't think so." Dorothy didn't know anything about him, she was simply going off of his behavior.

"It's not about getting him to 'go for me'. This is just about being friends." Relena rolled her eyes as she explained. "I don't have any other motives." Relena then looked at her hand, remembering how tough his skin felt on her much softer flesh. It caused her body to shiver and then the image of his eyes digging into her own played back in her head. She felt her face begin to warm up again.

"Really?" Dorothy gave the girl a skeptical look. "You're giving a little too much thought to someone who you claim you just want to be friends with. This is the kind of thinking someone has for somebody they'd like to get to know a little more intimately."

"Well, I guess that's what makes me such a good friend." Relena smirked at girl with the unique eyebrows.

"That's true, I'll give you that, Miss Relena." Dorothy nodded. "Which means you'll make an incredible lover."

Relena's face flushed more and she threw a pillow at her friend. "Stop!"

Dorothy swatted it away and could only laugh.

* * *

The weekend had arrived and night time came and blanketed the city. Heero walked towards the tall project housing building that Hilde lived in. He had been here many times before. He knew people and customers that lived in this area. Walking into the lobby of the rundown building he saw a group of people huddled over a dice game. Large bills were on the ground and money was changing hands. And across from that group was a table where guys were playing cards. Heero recognized them as well.

"Hey Heero. Want in on this game?"

"What's happening, man!"

Heero walked up to the table, greeting them all, especially the two running the game. Alex and Mueller. The table had bottles of booze, cards, some drug paraphernalia and guns. They had a reputation for being rowdy guys and this scene only helped solidify that reputation. "I'm good." Heero shook his head.

"Heading to that party upstairs?" Alex asked. "Elevators broke. Gonna have to take the stairs."

Heero shrugged. That didn't bother him.

"Hah, pay me you assholes!" Mueller got up and celebrated his winning hand. Everyone else groaned and begrudgingly gave up the cash. Heero watched for a few more seconds before taking his leave and headed up the stairs.

After about 5 minutes of stair climbing, he could already hear Duo out in the hallways. He finally caught up and saw him and Hilde hanging out with a large group of people scattered throughout the hall. The braided teen had an arm draped over her shoulders with a cup of alcohol in his free hand.

"Hey buddy, glad you could make it." Heero nodded at them, greeting others as he made his way towards the couple.

"Hilde, Duo." Heero nodded at them.

"Hi Heero, so how's school been?" the short haired girl asked.

Heero simply shrugged. "It's been fine. You been alright?"

"Oh yeah, been good. Just trying my best to keep this ass from getting in trouble." the girl explained, smiling up at the man who held her close.

"I've been on my best behavior, I swear." Duo leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"Yeah, today anyway. You better promise not to get too shit faced tonight." Hilde warned him.

"I got you." Duo released her. "Me and Heero are heading up. We'll be back." Hilde nodded and Duo left her with a kiss on the lips and took off with his friend. "Wufei is up there." Duo explained as they headed further up.

The entire top half of the building was being used for a party. Music was blasting everywhere and everyone was hanging out in the decrepit and damaged hallways. Heero and Duo got to their destination: The building rooftop. A few people were there and they saw Wufei leaning by one of the corners of the roof.

Their friend nodded at them. "What's up?"

Heero nodded. "Nothing much."

"School going good?" Wufei asked, dapping Heero up.

"It's going." Heero confirmed. "You?"

"Same old thing. Minding my own business and getting the day over with as fast as possible." Wufei explained. "Nothing changes over there. You know that."

Heero and Duo nodded, very much in agreement with that statement. "The streets have been getting a little hot lately. Especially after they scraped Trant's body off the pavement."

"Yeah, definitely noticed that. Heard from Alex and Mueller that they had to reign it in a bit. Cop cars have been flying down the streets and harrassing people a lot more than usual recently." Duo mentioned, recalling people getting randomly pulled over and other friends of his getting randomly patted down. "I'm sure even Treize would be a little cautious in making moves." he continued, referring to the city's kingpin.

"That guy has too much power, it's obscene." Wufei shook his head. "He has enough influence to keep himself out of trouble. We all know he's got cops on the payroll." Duo and Heero nodded, knowing how far Treize's reach went.

"Yeah, that's true." Duo added, then looked at Heero. "Watch you back, bud. We ain't trying to see you get got, you know what I'm saying?"

"Hn." Heero wasn't trying to see that either. He had felt the temperature on the streets rise recently, so he knew he had to be careful. Last thing he wanted was to either get locked up or get caught up in some stupid street war. He had something going on right now, he just had to proceed with caution. This wasn't his first day on the block. Taking care of business was his specialty and he had been pretty damn good at it so far, even if he wasn't exactly proud to admit that.

"Heero knows the game too well. I'm not too worried about him." Wufei smirked, knowing how seriously Heero handled his business.

"Still doesn't mean you can relax, you never know what could happen out here. Shit is crazy, man." Duo said, sipping his cup and loving the taste. "Getting low, I gotta grab some more. Y'all want in on this?" the braided teen asked his friends.

Wufei waved him off and Heero shook his head, neither really in the mood to drink.

"Alright then, more for your boy." he chuckled. "Hilde babe… I might have to go back on that promise."

* * *

They continued hanging out on the rooftop of the building. More people came to chill and eventually Heero separated himself from the group for a second. He leaned over the five foot tall brick wall that bordered the roof. He took in the scenery. The city lights, the night sky, the full moon. He closed his eyes for a second, savoring the cool breeze.

A week of school in the books, Heero thought. His mind started to drift away.

It had been an interesting week. He felt a little like a fish out of water there, but he did appreciate how he could find alone time in that school. Nobody knew him and because of his general demeanor, few bothered to approach him. He had gotten a little more attention than he wanted when he tossed Relena's invitation, but people were still mostly cautious around him. He figured that if it weren't for Relena giving the cosign by treating him and taking him to the nurse's office, that unwanted attention might have gotten worse.

Relena.

There she went again, rudely invading his thought process. He sighed at this. Why was he even thinking about her right now? Then he remembered, today was her birthday party. He had gotten an invitation… and he threw it away in front of her. But considering how things turned out after his first day at St. Gabriel, he figured he was still invited. Not that he wanted to go, Heero thought. He didn't belong there and Relena was the only person he had an actual meaningful encounter with. He knew no one else except that green eyed enforcer of hers.

'Relena.' his head went again. There was no reason for him to be there. None at all, he told himself.

However… there was still a nagging feeling about the whole thing that bothered Heero. He didn't think he needed to be there, but considering how she treated his wound and kept some of that unnecessary school heat off of him, he did feel like he owed her something. It bothered him to be in debt to her. He wanted to shake that feeling away. The blue eyed teen needed to do something about it. Yeah, that was it, Heero thought. He just needed to pay Relena back for what she did for him. Then he would be fine, he said trying to convince himself.

Thoughts raced through his mind about how he could go about doing that. After a few moments of thinking he came up with something. It was weird, but it was all he could think of. He wasn't good at this, but he had to do something.

He dug his phone out of his pocket and ordered a ride. He had to go and tell Duo he was stepping out for a bit.

* * *

The spacious country club was packed with students of St. Gabriel Academy. It was a mixture of the older adults who kept themselves mostly around the bar area, segregated from the younger crowd that infested the dancefloor. The lights were kept dark enough and the lights flashed at a rapid pace. That was where Relena and Dorothy were spending time, dancing to the rhythm blasting from the speakers.

There was a second floor. It was something of a VIP area for people close to the birthday girl. It was up there that two well dressed male students close to Relena were overlooking the scene.

"She seems happy." Quatre noted, standing by his best friend who was leaning over.

"So far so good." Trowa noted, keeping his eye on Relena. "How's Dorothy?"

"Oh you know, she's in her element right now. Having fun and acting as Relena's right hand." Quatre watched as his girlfriend danced along happily with all of her friends. He smiled down at her, glad to see she was having fun.

"Yeah, that's Dorothy. You've got your hands full with her." Trowa smirked at his boy.

"I'm just trying to keep up." Quatre chuckled, knowing Trowa was more than correct. They continued to watch before something popped up in Quatre's head. "Heero Yuy. He's not gonna show is he?"

Trowa shrugged, thinking it over. "Hmm, he might."

Quatre looked questioningly at Trowa. "What makes you say that?"

Trowa recalled something he remembered from yesterday. He was there watching Heero deciding to keep the invitation he found on the floor. With what he knew of the new student, he wouldn't choose to keep that invitation for nothing. "Just have a feeling."

Quatre shrugged. "Alright then." He then moved closer to lean next to Trowa. "Well, now that we're on the subject, I have something to admit."

Trowa turned to raise an eyebrow at him. "Huh?"

"Well… I did some research." Quatre sighed, eyes focused on Dorothy. "I feel a little guilty, but Relena is our friend. I just did it to make sure this Heero guy was on the up and up."

"Research, Quatre?" Trowa was curious now. What was his friend trying to tell him?

Quatre nodded. "I looked into him and found out where he lives. It's kind of surprising really."

"You found out his address? That's something, alright. That's not like you, Quatre."

"Yeah I know." Quatre hung his head low for a second before continuing to explain. "But it's good that I did, because now it makes sense as to why nobody in school knew who he was." Trowa watched his friend, wondering what he found out. "His address is located in the North Side of town. We're talking deep in the inner city."

Trowa tilted his head. "What are you saying?"

"I guess, and I'm not trying to sound like some typical snotty rich kid, what I'm saying is that where he's from, he shouldn't be able to afford to enroll in our school. He lives in a neighborhood with high levels of crime, and we're talking murder and drugs. I read that somebody died around his street earlier this week actually!"

"Whoa." Trowa was trying to process what his friend was telling him. "Hmm…" Trowa thought loudly. "So, Heero comes from a poor neighborhood. And somehow he's a schoolmate of ours. That definitely is surprising. I'm not even sure what to make of it."

Quatre nodded. "Same. How he managed to pay to go to St. Gabriel is a question I can't really answer. Unless he got some kind of loan from somewhere."

Trowa rubbed his chin. "Hard to say. Too bad he's not someone we can just ask."

"Yeah, not sure we'll get any answers from him ourselves." Quatre agreed.

"Yeah, we won't." Trowa responded. "But… maybe she could." Trowa said, his eyes spotting Relena, smiling and laughing as she danced with her group of friends. "I'm sure if anyone could get the full story, it's her."

* * *

"Hn…" Heero was getting annoyed. Standing in this particular store aisle made him feel weirdly out of place. He looked at the thing on the shelf that he was thinking of buying. He grabbed it off the shelf looked at it for a second before sighing. This was too strange for him to do, but he felt an obligation to do so at this point.

He walked up to the counter and pulled out his wallet to purchase the item. The girl ringing up his item smiled at him, giving him a knowing look. He frowned at her, wanting her to finish up already. "Want me to box this for you?" the girl asked.

"Uh… sure." Heero answered stiffly.

"For your girlfriend?" the girl giggled as she used wrapping paper to cover the box.

Heero's eyes widened and he gave her one of his signature cold hearted glares. "Can you finish up already?"

* * *

After ordering another ride off his phone, Heero hopped out of the car. He looked at the driver. "Give me some time, I'll make it worth your while." Heero dug into his pockets and tossed the driver a small stack of cash. The driver grinned and gave him a nod. He took the box and walked to the front of the building. This was the country club where Relena's party was taking place. If only there was a way he could get this present in there without getting seen, Heero thought. It was impossible, however, so he guessed he had to swallow his pride and enter this establishment. He closed his eyes and sighed.

He was about to take a step when he heard some voices behind him coming from the packed parking lot.

"They're about to open presents, hurry up dear!"

Heero turned to see an older couple walking up to the entrance. He didn't know them, but figured they were related to someone inside. When they got closer, they stopped in their tracks to look at the young man in front of them.

"Oh hello, are you here for the party?" the woman began. She noticed he wasn't dressed for the occasion, but he had to know her daughter to be standing out here with a box like that.

Heero studied them for a second before finding a response. "I… No, not really."

The older pair raised eyebrows at him. "Are you not a friend of our daughter Relena?"

'Her parents?' Heero was kind of taken aback to be standing in front of her family like this, but he tried not to show it. "Um, this. It's for Relena. I just came to drop it off. I'm a new classmate of hers." Heero offered the box to Relena's parents.

Relena's father, Michael Darlian, took the box and gave the young man an odd look. "Are you sure you dont want to go in and say 'hi' before leaving?"

"They're actually just about to start opening presents, you should come in." Mareen Darlian added.

Heero shook his head. "I'm sorry, I have somewhere important I have to be."

"Well, if you say so. We'll tell Relena you stopped by then." Her father smiled and nodded at him. "Thank you, young man."

Heero felt awkward talking to them, especially knowing who they were. He returned the nod and that's when his phone went off. He took it out of his jacket pocket and saw the name 'Otto'.

'Shit, my product.' Heero thought. He looked back up at the pair. "I have to take this. Um, have a good night." Heero answered his phone and walked towards the direction of his ride. He wasn't going in yet though. He had business to discuss and he didn't need some random driver hearing him.

Relena's parents watched him walk, then gave each other questioning looks before shrugging and making their way inside. "Strange boy." Mr. Darlian noted. His wife chuckled as she looked back once more at him before following her husband in.

* * *

"Alright, everyone gather around!" Dorothy shouted as she had the music turned down. "We're gonna be opening presents!" Dorothy had set up the table where Relena was sitting, surrounded by the numerous items that had been bought for her. Opening stuff like this was never her favorite part of the party. As weird as it sounded, she didn't like all the attention. Yes, it was her party, but opening stuff in front of people felt like she was making too much of a spectacle of herself. Dorothy was putting in a lot of work getting everyone together though, and Quatre and Trowa were helping move things around for better seating. So she would make herself enjoy this moment. You only turn 17 once, she mentally noted.

Dorothy was about to start handing her presents to open when she saw Relena's parents enter the building. She smiled and looked back at her dear friend. "Miss Relena, some last minute guests."

Relena gave her friend a look before, seeing her father walking in with her mother. She gasped before getting up and rushing towards her dad who she had not seen in a while. "Father!" She crashed into him, holding him tightly. Her father kept himself from getting pushed back before smirking down at his little girl. He threw his free arm around her and pulled her into an embrace.

"Happy birthday Relena."

"Thank you for being here." She looked up at him, joy emanating from her face. "I was convinced you wouldn't come."

"I know, I'm tired of disappointing you so I did my absolute best to make it back in time. Sorry if I'm a little late." her father apologized while planting a kiss on his daughter's cheek.

She shook her head. "It's fine, as long as you're here."

This was the kind of scene that made Mareen Darlian incredibly happy. "Now, why don't we watch our daughter open her gifts, dear?"

Her father nodded and let go of his daughter. "I guess in that case we can start with this one." Her father handed her the box given to him by Heero.

"Oh, thank you Father." Relena smiled widely as she got ready to open the box, Dorothy walking right behind her wanting to see what Mr. Darlian got her. Trowa and Quatre watching from a distance.

"Yes, well, that's actually not from me. A classmate of yours was outside, he gave us this to give you." Relena's father explained.

Relena looked up at her father, giving him a strange look. "Huh, do you know who it was?"

Her father shook his head. "Shoot, I didn't even get his name. He didn't mention who he was did he, Mareen?"

Relena's mother shook her head. "No, he didn't say his name or anything, just that he was a new classmate of yours."

"What?" Relena's head snapped to look over at her mother. Eyes grew to the size of saucers. 'No… It couldn't be…' Relena couldn't think of anyone else who could fit that description. Was Heero actually here? And did he actually get her a gift? Her heart began to race and she felt her body feel that familiar sensation that she only felt when she was last around Heero.

"Yes, he couldn't stay, he said, but wanted us to give this to you." Her father added to his wife's explanation.

Relena looked to Dorothy. The girl gave her a shocked but amused look. Trowa and Quatre heard this and they both looked at each other, surprised at this turn of events. "Well, let's see what it is?" Dorothy suggested with a satisfied grin. Relena blinked a few times before shaking herself out of her own shock.

"Um, yeah… sure." Relena took a deep breath, finding it odd that she was about to open a gift from the person who threw her invitation out into the wind in their first meeting. Her heart continued to pound fast as she unwrapped and unboxed. Dorothy came right up next to Relena, very curious to see what it was.

Relena looked into the box and reached in, pulling out… a teddy bear with a red bow. She chuckled as she saw it. Thinking how out of character it was for Heero to get her something like this. But the more she held it, the more attached to it she became. This was a gift from Heero Yuy. That thought caused her heart to skip like a scratched record. She gave it a light hug, knowing that she would treasure this present. A genuinely happy smile graced her features. 'Thank you, Heero.' she thought blissfully to herself.

"Would have been nice if he could have stayed. I wonder if he's still out there." her father wondered.

Relena looked back up at her dad with a curious look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he said he was taking off, but he got a call and didn't leave right away."

"Yes, he stood talking on the phone. Maybe he hasn't left yet." Her mother stated.

Relena looked to Dorothy, giving her a determined look. "Give me a second?"

"Take all the time you need, dear." The platinum blonde winked at her.

Relena nodded, sprinting to the front door of the country club, hoping he was still out there. Hoping she hadn't missed him. "Heero…" she whispered to herself.

**AN: **Hope you like it! See you in chapter 7!


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** **My longest chapter yet! Let's see how it goes. Any feedback is good feedback. **

**Chapter 7: Into The Unknown**

"Yeah… alright, I get it… sure… yeah, I remember." This conversation had been going on for far too long, Heero thought. "Okay, fine. Just make sure you have everything." Otto kept chirping in Heero's ear. He had more 'product' to pick up and Otto was his number one supplier. He always took his cut from Heero before giving him more contraband to get rid of and they always met at the same spot. Why Otto always felt the need to go over every little detail, Heero never knew. Though he had to admit that, with the streets getting more heat than usual, he was justified in being this meticulous with their business meeting.

Can't afford to be caught slipping.

"I'll be there in about 40 to 45 minutes." Heero looked up at the night sky as he spoke, getting bored of hearing the other man's voice. "Hn… yeah well I'm farther out than I thought I would be." Otto did not like waiting long, but he needed his cut so he would have to be patient and Heero knew he would wait. "Calm down, you'll be fine. See you later… whatever, bye." A sigh escaped him as he hung up. He needed to get out of here already. He accomplished what he needed to do here and he kept his driver waiting long enough.

Maybe now these odd feelings he had been developing during this past week would start to dissipate, Heero hoped. It still felt funny that he came all the way out here to do this. That girl really made him feel out of character and that didn't sit well with him. It just got too strange… too different than what he was used to. Even though they didn't speak much after their visit to the nurse's office, just looking at her smile at him caused his body to react. It shocked him to experience something so weird. What the hell was the deal with that?

Heero shook off these bizarre thoughts and started to head for his ride. He needed to get back to his side of town, handle his work and then maybe catch the rest of the party at Hilde's building. He would be busy and the less he could think about Relena the better.

Good thing he was able to get the present in there without being seen. Mission Complete, Heero triumphantly thought.

"Heero!"

'Shit' Just the sound of her voice caused his body to lock up. 'C'mon… move!' Heero angrily thought to himself. His body refused to listen and he knew that turning around would be his doom. The best course of action would be to ignore her and just jump in his ride and take off. He would be acting like a dick to her again, but he already did that before, what's the problem in doing it one more time?

Unfortunately, his body didn't agree. And the more her voice penetrated his ears, the less he could defend against his body's betrayal.

"Heero, wait!" She sprinted closer to him and Heero could do nothing else but face her.

He turned his head to see her quickly approach and his breath cut off on him as his eyes analyzed her. Her blue dress looked hung well on her figure and complimented her fair skin. That trademark honey blonde hair gilded elegantly as the night time air ran through it. It was stylized with these two unique braids that wrapped around her and hung along with her aforementioned blonde locks. She also had a bit more height on her as he noticed her running up to him in heels. He still had no idea how women moved fast in those. A mystery never to be solved, he figured.

She finally caught up to him and slowed down to a halt a mere two feet away. She wore a huge smile that topped off her get up and made Heero think of a word that he never used in his daily life.

'Beautiful.'

He swallowed hard and tried to recover as she stood before him… holding that damn bear.

"I'm glad I got to you before you left." Relena began, gracious blue eyes focused on him. "I… didn't expect this. It was a great surprise, I love it." She held the bear tight to her chest. "Thank you, Heero."

Looking at her standing there, in that dress, looking that striking, holding his gift to her like that… It was making Heero lose his focus. He didn't want to match looks, fearing he would lose himself in those wide blue orbs of hers, so he kept his own eyes observing the ground between them.

"It's nothing." he began. "I owe you."

"Owe me?" Relena wasn't sure what he was talking about.

He nodded, eyebrows furrowed. "Just paying back my debt." he explained.

"Um, Heero, you don't owe me anything."

Heero disagreed with a head shake. "I do."

"What do you mean?" Relena wanted him to look at her. She needed him to see her.

"Treating my wound." Heero answered her. "I needed to repay you for that."

"Oh, Heero, there was no need for you to feel in debt to me for that." Relena chuckled. "But at the same time, I'm kind of glad you did. Otherwise I wouldn't of gotten this cute little bear."

That got him and he looked up to see her smiling round face, arms secured around that furry toy that now belonged to her. His chest ached at her sight. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to recover himself.

Relena never saw him in anything other than school related attire and he looked much different in casual wear. He still carried that wild aura about him and that untamed head of hair, but now he was draped in a bomber jacket, black v-neck shirt that allowed more view of his chest than she had seen before, causing a bit of heat to rush to her cheeks. A simple pair of jeans and some golden colored waterproof boots. School uniform or not, he was gorgeous.

Heero wasn't sure how to answer that. However, there was a weird sense of pride that he got all of a sudden when he heard her compliment the stuffed animal. He didn't want her to know that though. "Hn." was all he could muster for a response.

"Well, do you still plan on leaving? You know you could always stay if you want." Relena offered, hoping he would take her up on it.

He saw the hope in her eyes, not knowing why she would want him to stay. "I can't." Heero shook his head. "I'm expected to be somewhere. I'm sorry."

Relena's face fell a little, but a part of her knew he wouldn't accept. It wasn't so bad though, she figured. Getting a gift from Heero was more than she could have ever expected.

"It's okay. It's not like you even accepted my invitation the first time around anyway." Relena let out a slight laugh, recalling their first meeting. Heero flinched, the guilt from that day returning to him. Relena noticed it and felt a little bad for bringing that up to him. "But it all worked out. I ended up with this here teddy and, well, hopefully a new friend?" Those hopeful eyes returned to Relena's face as she graced him with that look.

Heero tried his best to remain who he always was, but she was tearing him down. How she did it, he had no idea. She had something over him, he thought, he couldn't explain it for the life of him. The boy adjusted himself to turn away from her. "If… that's what you want, sure." Heero said through gritted teeth.

Relena produced the widest smile that she had ever given in some time. "Promise?" she said with a slight teasing tone.

Heero kept his eyes away from her, annoyed at her sudden playfulness. He didn't want to repeat himself, but found himself confirming it anyway. "Yeah…"

"Good." Relena grinned, watching him as he tried to straighten himself out. "So, guess I'll see you at school?"

He nodded. "See you then. I have to go." Heero took a few steps before feeling a couple arms wrap around his waist. His Prussian eyes widened and he quickly whipped his head to look back, seeing that the girl had stopped him by pulling him into an embrace.

Relena could feel Heero's body stiffen at the contact. She hoped that she hadn't crossed a line or turned him off. She was probably pushing her luck, but much like Heero was having a hard time telling his body what to do, Relena also felt herself react without thinking. She swallowed hard and kept her cheek pressed on his back.

"Relena…" Heero spoke, unsure of what to do next. He remained frozen in place.

"Sorry…" Relena's figure shook at their contact as she held him, now thinking that this may have been a regrettable action. "It's another way of me thanking you… as friends." she tried to reason, crossing her fingers that he would understand and not reject her.

Heero was not used to these kinds of encounters. At least not like this… and from a person like Relena no less. This was an act of kindness that felt alien to him. It wasn't something he ever thought he would experience but here he was now, and once again this girl kept with the surprises. He remained still for a few seconds more before realizing she was shaking. He could sense her doubt. All of a sudden he felt the need to keep her from trembling.

He adjusted himself in her hold, turning around to face her. She looked up wondering what he would do next. His eyes were narrowed and gave no indication about what he was currently feeling. "Heero?" she tried, before it would be his turn to surprise her.

Heero wasn't convinced that embracing her back would be the right move… no, actually he knew it wasn't the right move, but he did it anyway. He knew he would be kicking himself for this later on down the line, but it was the only thing his arms allowed him to do.

Relena felt a firm hold wrap around her. She did not expect Heero's actions but was definitely not against them. His hug felt secure, she was feeling an overwhelming sense of safety. She relaxed in his hold and the pair stood there in in each other's arms. His usual intense glare shone down on her while her pleasantly surprised face continued to look up at him. They were in their own world in that moment. Neither of them sure how to continue, but both finding a level of comfort. Relena more than Heero, but he was figuring it out. Why he bothered, he did not know, but here he was, returning Relena's hug. Not what he had planned for tonight.

A few seconds that felt more like an eternity passed before Heero swallowed hard and spoke.

"I… have to go. I have people waiting on me."

Relena sighed contently and nodded. "That's right. You were leaving, sorry about that."

Heero shrugged. "It's fine." His voice low and rumbling. Neither of them wanted to be the first to break the embrace, but knew someone had to eventually. It was Heero who pulled away before slowly backing up. They looked at each other while Heero stuffed a hand into his pocket.

"Thank you for coming, Heero. Please, have a good night." Relena said with a genuinely happy smile.

Heero nodded before doing a 180, showing her his back, readying himself to take off. He gave her one more look, taking in her wonderful sight before walking away. "Happy birthday." he said in that same rumbling tone.

"Thank you." Relena watched as he entered his ride. The car took off and disappeared into the night time streets.

The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had no idea how she was supposed to go back in that country club and act normal again. Not after something like that. She felt her body tremble again and she had to take a few more deep breaths to settle herself once more. "Wow…" she said to herself. "I don't even know where to go from here." Relena snickered to no one. "Heero…" She looked towards the streets where he left in his ride for a little longer, the events of everything that just happened played back. From the surprise present that she still had in her grasp right now, to seeing Heero stand here before her, to hear him promise to be more friend-like with her, to the… hug. It was a lot to take in.

A lot can happen in a week, Relena thought.

Once she felt composed enough to move, she turned to head back towards her party. Where she saw Dorothy standing at the entrance with her arms crossed, mouth in the widest grin possible.

She was gonna have a lot of explaining to do. Relena sighed, a smile still plastered on her face.

* * *

Heero rested his head on the window of the car. He looked out into the landmarks and streetlights passing him by. He had no idea what made him do what he did. Why did he return her hug? He should have left as soon as he could. It was a mistake.

Heero Yuy, a money making drug dealer who did what he could to survive his unforgiving environment had absolutely no right to hold someone like her. They were from different planets, and Heero came from one that did not deserve the good of others. Especially someone like Relena Darlian.

The boy with the unruly brown hair felt like he had dirtied her by holding the girl like he did. He didn't mean to, but he did what he thought was right. He didn't know if he was even doing it correctly, but he would grudgingly admit to himself that it felt… nice? Heero shook his head.

Again, he did not deserve to hold Relena. But, he would allow himself to be content with it. At least for right now.

The car drove on, to where he could revert back to the Heero Yuy he always, the one Relena did not know about. The Heero that he knew she would have to find out about one day.

Heero closed his eyes, emotionally exhausted, and napped as he waited for his next stop.

* * *

A few weeks passed.

Things had gone on as usual. The streets kept it going and Heero was feeling more comfortable in this new arena of high class schooling. He still felt out of place, but he was better at waving that feeling away now. He just concentrated on finishing up his classes and handling his work. He did enjoy Physical Education. He was able to play ball and get time in the weight room they had set up there.

He worked on keeping himself in shape. He needed to remain strong. His neighborhood demanded that. Heero still mostly kept to himself. He wasn't progressing much when it came to making friends. And that was all right by him. There was no need for any added distractions. He kept his signature stoicism up to repel anyone from any unnecessary encounters. It worked almost all the time.

Almost because there was one person who he could not keep away. He had promised not to, he remembered.

And since the night of her birthday party, he had kept that promise.

Relena was the only person in the entire school who had any access to Heero. Unlike before, she was actually able to talk to him in school. She would stop him in the hallways if she could, doing small things like asking how his day was going. Offering her help if he needed anything, to which he never took her up on but she knew he wouldn't. She just liked that he even bothered to stop and reply to her. In her small talks with Heero, she never got the feeling that she was annoying him, which she was trying to be conscience of.

She could almost tell that his features softened when she approached her. It was subtle, but she was sure it was there. People wondered what was going on with them, especially after they saw that teddy bear he had gotten her. Were they an item? They sure didn't seem that way, but everyone noticed that she was the only person to have to have any meaningful contact with him.

Relena heard the chatter and while she assured those who asked that they were merely friends, she couldn't help but feel a strong sense of pride at being the only one who could get Heero's attention. Of course, Dorothy would bug her to no end about it.

Oh god, Relena remembered having to explain the whole scene outside of the club the night of her birthday to her friend. She would not stop asking and teasing. Relena could only groan and continually tell Dorothy that nothing was going on. She didn't believe her and relentlessly tormented her about it, and being the only girl, let alone person, in the entire school to be allowed to speak with him did not help Relena against Miss Catalonia's gossip. She just did her best to push those things aside.

Her growing affection for the lone wolf student who joined her school almost a month ago was something she would deal with herself.

Then one day came. She noticed that she had not seen Heero all day. Not in the one class they shared and not in gym class either. He had been absent, for what reason she did not know, but she knew better than to worry about him. He was clearly a strong guy. She was sure he would be back tomorrow.

The end of the day came. All of her friends had taken their leave and she was left finishing up some things for last period. She texted Pagan to give her a couple minutes, she would be down soon. As she wrapped up, she headed through the hallways before getting stopped by her first period teacher.

"Hey, Relena." The older woman stopped her.

"Yes, Miss Adams?" Relena turned to look at her, holding a folder in her arms.

"Mind if I ask you for a favor? You can decline if you want, it's fine either way." Miss Adams started.

Relena was curious now. "Sure, what is it?"

"Well, we got a call from the office. It seems like Heero Yuy is going to be absent for the next couple of days." Relena's eyebrows raised. 'Was everything okay with Heero?' she wondered, suddenly feeling her stomach turn with worry.

"Is Heero okay?" Relena said a little too quickly. Getting an amused smirk from her teacher.

"Well we didn't get much in the way of details, but from what I heard, things are fine. Something family related came up and he needed some time off. They said he would be back in school with no issue at all."

"Oh, okay." Relena sighed, feeling relieved. "So then, what's the favor your asking me?"

"Well, since he'll be gone for a couple days, I fear he might miss out on some things for class. You know I don't like seeing people fall back too much. And from what I've heard, your the only real friend he has here." The teacher noted. "So, I have this folder of assignments here that I want you to deliver to him if you can. You don't have to accept, but it was just an idea of mine. I could always mail this but I figured he would like to see a good friend of his bring it to him instead."

Her teacher wanted her to deliver this… to Heero's home. Relena wasn't sure that she wanted to accept. Would Heero even like the idea of seeing her pop up out of nowhere at his home? She wasn't sure. But at the same time, it was an extra view into Heero's world. That was just too tempting of an offer to pass up. "Sure, I'll make sure to bring this to him. No problem at all, Miss Adams." The teacher smiled down at her student.

"Thank you, his address is on the folder." She handed it to Relena. "I appreciate it."

Relena nodded and took out her phone. She texted Pagan. There was somewhere they had to go before she went home.

* * *

As they got closer to Heero's address, Pagan felt incredibly uneasy about all of this. She had told him that she was delivering something to a friend of hers for school, but… that they ended up here of all places? Was this a joke, the elderly man wondered. Did a student she know actually live around here?

Relena almost felt the same way. Culture shock had hit her hard. Is this… really where Heero was from? This was a part of the city that she knew next to nothing about. Of course she had heard about how there were poverty stricken places in this city, where crime ran amok, but she could never have imagined that a classmate of hers would be from this kind of neighborhood. She watched as houses looked like they could cave on themselves at the weak foundation. Shady characters roamed the streets, it felt very much like they were uninvited and of course, a luxury pink colored car was attracting more attention that they wanted.

Pagan looked around, hoping something wouldn't happen to them while they were here. There was no explaining this to her family if a terrible event took place in an area like this. They did not belong and Pagan knew it. "Are you sure you want to do this Miss Relena? It doesn't feel particularly safe around here…"

She knew he was right. These streets were loud and crowded. It looked like the neighborhood was deteriorating. This was a forgotten part of town, Relena thought. She saw the eyes scan her ride as she passed by. It started to bother her, but she knew it wasn't in her character to be judgemental. She assumed that people were living like this because there was no choice. That had to be it, and it made her wonder just what Heero's situation really was. "You're right… but we came all the way here, we can't turn back. Besides, Heero's home is about to show up right now."

'Heero?' Miss Relena was dropping off something for a male classmate of hers?

"Here, that's the building." Relena pointed it out. Luckily there was a place to park right in front of his home. The building looked no different than any of the other places on the block. The building looked defeated and filled with cracked concrete. It was clearly one of those multi family apartment buildings. She didn't know what floor he lived on, so she had to hope there was something that could point her in the right direction. "Okay, Pagan. I'm going in." Pagan heard the determination in her voice. He wasn't sure if he should let her in by herself, but once Relena was convinced about something, there was no turning her back. He saw that his entire time serving her family.

"Please be safe, Miss Relena, let me know if anything happens, please!" Pagan hoped she would listen to him.

"I'm sure it will be fine." Relena nodded. 'Here it goes…' Relena thought before finally stepping out. She approached the building which she noticed had the front door already cracked open. Should she knock, Relena wondered. She took some more cautious steps before reaching the front door. She was about to lightly knock on the rotting wood door before someone pulled the door open. It was a couple of middle aged men who looked shocked to see someone like her, dressed like that.

"Oh, damn. Uh, you lost little girl?" The one with the baseball hat asked her.

"Yeah, you ain't look from round here." The other chubbier one said.

"Uh… I'm not. I, um…" Relena tried her best not to look too off guard, but that didn't help as she was clearly out of her element. "I'm… do you know where Heero Yuy lives?"

The two men were surprised to hear her say that guy's name. They both looked at each other and then back at her. "Oh, okay, damn. Heero really is moving on up." The other man nodded with a smirk.

"Not bad Heero. Do your thing man." They both chuckled at that.

Pagan looked on and wondered if he should get her back in the car and take off. He was starting to think this was a big mistake.

Relena wasn't sure what they were talking about, but had to get to Heero's apartment. "So you know Heero?"

They both nodded. "Yeah, lives with crazy ass uncle J. Third door on the left right here on the first floor. I don't know if he's home, but I know uncle J is, that dude never goes outside." the baseball hat wearing man replied.

Relena smiled and nodded. "Thank you, I just have something I need to give him from school. I appreciate your help, gentleman." The two made way for her to enter the building and they both watched her head for Heero's.

"I don't remember seeing girls look like that when I was younger. All classy and shit." The hat wearing man noted.

"That's cause nobody ever wanted your busted looking ass."

"The hell did you say to me?" The two argued as they walked off. Leaving Relena standing in front of the door she was told Heero was possibly behind. She took a deep breath as she knocked on the door. She got nothing.

She tried again. Still, nothing. Had she missed Heero? Didn't they say that his Uncle was always home? She tried once more, waited, and still nothing.

She wondered if she should give up. Maybe this was the one time his uncle wasn't home. She shook her head and tried one more time.

"Who in the world keeps knocking?" Relena finally heard something from behind the door. 'Finally' she thought. She heard the fiddling with the locks and prepared to see the door open. Once it did, it revealed and old and haggard looking man with glasses and long white hair. "Excuse me, and just who are you?"

She was surprised to see such a man answer the door but shook it off as she tried to progress. "Um, hello. Are you the Uncle J i've heard about?"

The older man smirked. "That's me. And you are, Miss?"

"My name is Relena. I'm a classmate of Heero's." Relena put on her best smile.

"Is that so?" Uncle J was now even more amused. "Well ain't that something, heh heh. Please, come in." Uncle J turned to walk back into his home. Relena wasn't sure she should go in, but he still didn't know if Heero was even home. So, she followed him in. The apartment was small. Obviously there was no need to compare to places she frequanted. There wasn't much in the way of personality in the home. She figured they were both practical men. They only needed the essentials, she guessed. "Please, take a seat." Uncle J took his regular spot on his recliner. While Relena took a spot on the small couch next to it. The living room had a gray colored carpet, there was a TV and a bookshelf. Not much else.

"So, um, is Heero home?" Relena asked as she got as comfortable as she could.

"I'm sorry, it seems like you came at the wrong time. He's been out. Not sure when he'll be back." Uncle J looked at the girl in the fancy school uniform.

"Oh… well that's a shame." Relena looked downward.

"How's that little rascal been at school anyway?" Uncle J grinned, curious to hear about his 'nephew's' time at St. Gabriel.

"I guess he's been doing good. We only share one class. Well, two with gym. But he seems like a really smart person."

Uncle J nodded. "That he is."

"Are you Heero's only family?" Relena didn't know if that was too personal a question, but she had to ask. She wanted to know more.

Uncle J nodded. "Yes, I am. Though, I wouldn't even call us family."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not biologically related to Heero. I'm just his legal guardian, you see. His mother and father died when he was very young. I was close to them so I promised to look after him once Odin and Aoi had passed. His father and mother, obviously." Uncle J explained, remembering that he hadn't said those names in a while.

"That's so sad…" It must have been a difficult life for Heero, she thought. To grow up around here with no family. "But at least he has you, right?"

Uncle J shrugged. "I could never be family to him. I'm just holding my end of the bargain. I wasn't meant to raise kids. So all I could do was teach him to survive. As I'm sure you can already tell, Miss, these are far from the ideal living situations. This run down home in this dying neighborhood. Not something you're used to, is it?"

Relena shook her head. "No."

"It's okay, in a perfect world, no one would ever grow up in a place like this." Uncle J told the young girl. "Heero is just a product of his environment, and I could do nothing to keep him from being that. Perhaps I only made him worse…" Uncle J left that thought out, thinking it over as he said it.

Relena watched him, seeing the old man thinking to himself. "Well, I think Heero has done quite well for himself. He seems strong and determined. He had to be in order to come from here and make it to St. Gabriel. From what I can tell, he is someone to be proud of." Uncle J turned to look at Relena with a scrutinizing look. Seeing something striking in her eyes as she said that.

"You're quite fond of Heero, aren't you?"

Relena felt her face warm up as he said that to him. She smiled to herself. "I guess so…"

Uncle J chuckled. 'How cruel.' he thought. "Well, I'll say this, Miss Relena. Heero is, at his heart, a kind boy."

The honey blonde nodded in agreement. "I'm beginning to see that."

"Don't be too hard on Heero, he's trying his best. He did not choose to be from here. He only does what he needs to do to live. He wants to be free of all of this, believe that." Uncle J said with absolute sincerity.

Relena nodded, not sure exactly what he meant. "Is there something I should know about Heero?"

Uncle J looked up, thinking that question over. "Hmm, well, if there is anything you should know about him, it's best you hear it from the horse's mouth. I have no right to speak on his behalf. All I can say is try to understand the boy as best as you can, and take care of him for me. I failed at that a long time ago."

* * *

"So like, bullets were flying by me, I could feel them go, man. It was crazy. It was like it was whistling by my ear. Can't believe that was two years ago… man time flies huh?" Duo said as he recalled his brush with the God of Death. He and Heero were walking back to the latter's home, a long day of hustling and money making. Heero was going to be busy these next two days, he had to have Uncle J call him out of school for it. He felt low, missing school time for dirty money, but he knew what he had to do.

"Yo, what's that fancy ass looking car doing in front of your place?" Duo pointed. "Pink too? That's not a color you see around here on a vehicle."

Heero seemed confused and looked to see the car Duo was talking about. At first he had no idea who this could be, a car like that risked getting jacked, sticking out like that too much. But why was it in front of his… then the gears in his head started to turn. And he remembered when Relena pulled up to him at the bus stop those many weeks ago.

"Damn!" Heero sped up and Duo followed.

"Wait, what's up? You know that ride?" Duo continued, not getting any answers from his friend. The both of them jumped up the concrete steps and pushed the door open with Heero leading the charge. As soon as he entered the lobby of the building, he saw her. Relena, in her school uniform, exiting his apartment.

"What are you doing here?" Relena jumped when she heard Heero's cold monotone voice break through her thoughts as she closed the door.

"H-Heero!" Her eyes displayed the obvious shock of seeing him, with a braided hair boy come standing confused behind him. "I just came to dr-"

"You have no business being here." Heero approached her. Relena saw the anger in his eyes and she shook at his tone. But stood her ground. Heero was tough. Where he was from made him that way. And she would have to be tough as well.

"I came here to drop off some school work for you. I know you won't be in school the next couple of days. Why that is, I don't know. They said family issues but your Uncle J didn't mention anything about that." Relena explained, matching his gaze.

"What did he tell you?" Heero got worried all of a sudden. He knew Uncle J wouldn't say anything to incriminate him, but there was always a chance of a slip.

"Just a little about you, nothing crazy." Relena shrugged.

"That was too much for me, I'm sure." Heero grunted. "So, are you done here?"

Relena sighed. "Well, I guess I am. Look, I'm sorry if this makes you upset with me, but as your friend I just wanted to make sure you were caught up."

"With school work? I'll be fine, believe me." Heero rolled his eyes.

"I don't doubt that for a second." Relena nodded.

"Then… why come?" This was too crazy of a surprise, to see her image here in this decrepit building. She didn't need to be somewhere like this.

Relena shrugged and smiled. "Maybe… I just wanted to see you?"

Heero took a step back as she said that. He swallowed hard and shook his head. "That's silly."

Relena chuckled. "I figured you would think that."

"C'mon. I'll walk you to your car." Heero turned, getting ready to leave with Relena.

"It's not that far from the door, I'm sure I'll be okay." Relena said as she followed.

Heero disagreed. "You don't know this area."

"I suppose I don't…" Relena shrugged. As they were making their way to the door, Duo looked on completely speechless. He had no idea what was going on. But he had to find out. They were already ignoring his presence and that annoyed him.

Duo shut the door, causing Heero and Relena to look at him confused. "No… No, no, no, no, no. We are not doing this."

"Duo?" Heero began.

Duo made his way between them. "I come here walking with my boy, thinking we're just gonna hang at his house, then all of a sudden this 10 out of 10, classy as hell looking chick comes out of his apartment, y'all start arguing, then you're gonna walk her out of here without even filling your man in? All this time I'm thinking, you know, maybe Heero just hasn't found the one, maybe he don't even like girls, maybe he's asexual. I don't know! And then I find out you're hiding this?" Duo looked dismayed at Heero.

Heero was starting to get irritated. Relena decided to surprise him with the wrong guy at his side. Duo would never shut up about this.

He looked over at the girl and gave her his best smile. "Oh, the name's Duo Maxwell, by the way. Heero's right hand. And you are?"

"Um…" Relena was taken aback by this Duo character's rant. So, this was a friend of Heero's? She wasn't the only one, huh? "My name is Relena Darlian. Pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure is all mine, beautiful." Duo threw an arm around her shoulders. Relena tensed up, not expecting that kind of contact.

"Uh… okay." She chuckled, feeling a little awkward, but felt that this boy meant no harm.

"So, like, are you my man's lady?" Duo smiled down at her, hoping that she would confirm his suspicions.

"What?" Relena looked up at the braided boy with a flushed face and let out a dry laugh. "Uh, I'm a friend of his."

"Yeah, that's how it starts." Duo nodded with a hand on his chin. "Good to know Hilde won't be a third wheel. Oh you're gonna love her, Hilde is a sweetheart. She's real cool, she's always there for me, she likes to-"

"Duo…"

Heero's voice became ice cold and it sent a shiver down Duo spine. Yeah, he tested Heero just a little too much and he was giving off that glare that could kill a man. Duo backed off and laughed nervously. "Well, nice to meet you, Relena."

Relena nodded at the boy with a lopsided smile. He was quite the character. Not what she expected from a friend of Heero. "Look after the kid." Duo whispered slyly in the girls ear. "Thought I saw some jealousy in those eyes of his." He winked at her as he headed for the door, to Heero's place.

"I'll be in your room. Take all the time you need, buddy." Duo smirked and exited the scene.

Heero's killer glare softened as he looked back at Relena. "Sorry about him…"

Relena shook her head. "It's fine, he seems like a really good friend."

"I wonder…" Heero sighed, not looking forward to explaining all of this. "You really shouldn't have come. I didn't want you to see this."

"See what?" she asked.

"This place… there's nothing here but misery. I don't need you to see where I come from."

"Are you ashamed?" Relena pressed on.

Heero shrugged. "Maybe."

"No need to be." she reassured him. "I don't care where you're from. My opinion of you wont change because of where you live. That would be terrible of me and completely shallow. That's not who I am or ever want to be."

Heero looked at her, looking too out of place in this home. Though no matter where she was, she kept her kindness and elegance alongside her. Heero just looked away from her, narrowed eyes filled with frustration. Relena saw this and wanted him to relax.

"Are you okay?" Relena reached out and took a firm grasp of his hand. Heero tensed up again, but didn't pull back, allowing her soft flesh to hold him firmly. Relena did it without even thinking. But she hoped it would settle him down.

"I'm fine, really." Heero kept his head away. "You don't need to worry about me."

"Can you let me, anyway?" Relena's voice softened.

Heero's eyes narrowed even more, confounded by her actions and words. "Why would you want to?"

"Because, I care about you."

Heero took a sharp breath hearing that. He shook his head. "I… don't understand why."

Relena smiled and pressed harder on his tense hand. "It's okay, we're friends. And that's what friends do." Relena told him. Though it was starting to feel like if they progressed from friendship, than maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing… Though she wouldn't force it. Not with someone like Heero. "They care about each other."

"Relena…"

"Hmm?"

Heero swallowed and felt his free hand move on it's own. He reached out and held a strand of her perfect, golden locks. Relena held her breath and watched him move, his fingers sliding around her perfectly straightened blonde hair. She closed her eyes and smiled, letting herself get lost in this moment.

'Friends… huh.' Heero thought. "You're an odd girl." came his response.

Relena laughed.

**AN: Hope you had fun reading it as I did writing it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:**** Went back to add titles to my chapters. I always liked chapter titles and always used them. Not sure what made me forget this time around, but oh well. Hope you like the update. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 8: An Ideal For Living**

With eyes like a hawk, Heero scanned the outside area in front of his building for anything suspicious or threatening while descending from his stoop, being incredibly cautious and equally aware. He always had to remain vigilant. But now, he kicked it up a notch. Because behind him followed the girl from school who decided to shock him and make a surprise appearance at his home. He still couldn't believe it. So now, here he was… walking her to her ride.

That car stuck out way too much and, quite frankly, Heero was a tad bit surprised that nothing had happened to it. He assumed the old guy driving this thing had his doors locked and the police one button press away. It was too risky for Relena to be here, Heero thought. He hoped she wouldn't pull this stunt again. He couldn't guarantee that everyone around here would be on their best behavior. She asked him if he was ashamed of where he comes from and he had said 'maybe'. He might have to change that to a straight up 'yes'.

"So, I guess I'll see you in a couple days?" Relena asked as they both got to her door.

Heero nodded as he continued to scope out their surroundings. He kind of developed a sixth sense living around here, always knowing when something felt a little off. As strange as it was to admit, he was feeling super protective of her. Last thing he wanted was to put the girl in harm's way. Though, if he really wanted to do that, it would probably be best to just sever ties with her completely. That was the unfortunate reality of the situation.

'Because I care about you'

That's what she said to him.

That's right, they were friends, Heero remembered. Could he really end this? They were already building something together, and Heero was getting comfortable with that. He shouldn't of, but it was the truth. There was a weird part of his humanity that she was getting to. It made feel both uneasy yet curious. She puzzled him.

And it was only making him dig deeper despite his better judgement.

"Is everything alright?" Relena noticed that Heero looked a little spaced out, though his head constantly moved like he was keeping an eye on everything around them.

"Yeah, sorry." Heero sighed, he reached up to rub his eyes.

"You sure?" And Heero nodded again. "Okay then, well before I take off, I never did find out why you had to miss time. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, but are things okay?"

He looked down at her, those eyes filled with concern and looking straight at him. He felt like trembling for a second but didn't allow it to show. "I just need some time off. This past month got me a little stressed out."

"Oh… Is there anything we can do at school to make things better?" The worry in her voice obvious.

Heero shook his head. No, there was nothing they needed to change at school. He hated that he had to lie to her. She didn't deserve to be fed bullshit. But he also couldn't just say the truth: There was money to make. He was going to have to talk to Otto. Heero couldn't afford to take any more time off school. And there weren't many other fake excuses he could come up with.

"Well, okay." Relena kept searching his eyes. "If there's anything I can do, please let me know."

"Hn." Heero looked down his street. "By the way, when you leave, tell your driver to take a right at the end of the road. Go straight and you'll end up at a roundabout. Take the second exit and your navigation should do the rest. It's a safer route."

Relena nodded with a light smile. "Thanks, I'll let Pagan know." She turned for the car door. Her hand gripped the handle as she looked back over at Heero once more. "Promise you'll be fine?" She had to fight back the feeling of wanting to reach for him again, to let him know she was there and she cared.

"Yeah." And Heero had to fight back the feeling of wanting to run a hand through her hair again. He had to admit, it felt nice to do. For him it was a bizarre thought, but she had the most beautiful head of hair he had ever seen.

"Good." Relena trusted that he would be okay. She could tell how strong he was. "I'll see you in a couple days then." From there, she opened the door and took her seat. Her window rolled down and she gave Heero one last smile. He returned a head nod and watched as they drove off.

He watched till they disappeared.

* * *

Heero re-entered his apartment and made for his room where he knew Duo was ready to interrogate him about Relena. He considered kicking him out of his house.

"Heero…" Uncle J called out to him.

Heero stopped, not looking towards his Uncle.

"You know I'll never tell you what to do. But you better be careful with that girl. Remember, two different worlds and two different lives. Never forget that."

"You didn't say anything, right?" Heero's eyes narrowed, thinking his uncle's words over.

"Of course not. I'll save that conversation for the both of you to have, heh heh." Uncle J knew that telling the truth is something that was Heero's responsibility.

Heero didn't want to think about that. Not right now. His feet began moving once more.

He pushed his door open, revealing Duo sitting with his arms crossed at his desk, shit eating grin on his face. "I'm not talking about it."

"Oh yes you are." Duo shot back.

"No, I'm not."

"Yeah, you are." Duo wasn't having it.

"I'll kill you."

"Go ahead, but I'm not leaving here without an explanation." The braided boy wanted his answers. Heero looked to be involved with a girl, and Duo's need for details would not go away.

Heero shifted over to his bed and dug under his mattress. Pulling out his firearm, he gripped on the cold black steel and aimed the barrel at Duo's head. "I mean it, I'm not talking about it."

Duo couldn't help but smile even more. "I mean it too. And yeah, you are. Oh, and the safety is on, can't kill me with that gun unless you plan on beating me to death with it. Or take the safety off." He winked at his friend.

"Maybe I will."

"Does it really bother you that much to talk about this?" Duo tilted his head at him.

Heero grunted before lowering his weapon and putting it back under his mattress. "Kinda, yeah." Heero sat on his bed, not happy about Duo prying about Relena.

"You'll be fine." Duo waved off his friend.

"Hn." Heero growled, not caring to be dismissed like that.

"She's really pretty." Heero looked away at this comment. Duo was amused. "Don't you think?"

"Hn."

"Is that your away of agreeing with me?"

Heero sighed. Was she pretty? Somehow that word didn't feel like enough for her. She was more than just 'pretty'. But he wasn't telling Duo that.

"You guys close?" The questioning continued.

Heero just shrugged his shoulders. He guessed they were. They both considered the other a friend. She even went as far as telling him she cared. So that obviously implied a level of closeness.

"I'll take that as yes." Duo snickered. "So what she like?"

Slumped over, elbows on his knees, eyes scanning the floor. "She's just a girl, you know. It's no big deal."

"That doesn't tell me shit." He wasn't taking any lame answers on this topic. "C'mon man, she's more than just a girl and you know it. Seriously, she seems like a good chick. Am I right about that?"

Heero groaned before looking back up, eyes wandering his room. "I guess so."

"Good, we're getting somewhere." Duo nodded. "What else is she like?"

Heero reached a hand over to rub his shoulder, shrugging again at his friend's inquiry. "She's kind of… I don't know. She's nice… caring and… weird."

"Weird?"

"Not a great word." Heero was getting frustrated, Duo was pulling teeth here and Heero was never put in a position where he had to explain his feelings involving a female. "But it's just weird for a person to be that way."

"Safe to say you never met someone like that before?"

Heero nodded. Duo smiled at his friend. "So, you like her." he said matter-of-factly.

Heero didn't like hearing that. It made him wonder if that was because that statement was true. Heero remembered what his Uncle told him and knew he wasn't allowed to like her. But he couldn't stay away. Not like he could if he wanted to, they went to the same school after all.

"Trying to make her your lady?"

Furrowed brows and an annoyed expression got shot at Duo's direction. "She's only a friend."

"And like I told your 'friend', that's how it starts." he replied. "You guys got a month in already. Why not go out with her?"

"You know why." a flat response from Heero answered that question. Both of them knowing the problems a relationship between the two of them could present.

"Yeah, I guess I do." Duo sighed, closing his eyes. "Sucks, doesn't it?"

"Hn." As conflicted and ashamed as he always was about his lifestyle and upbringing, he never worried about bringing other people down with him. This is why he couldn't pursue anything other than friendship with Relena, and even that was going too far.

Duo chuckled. "I know how this goes, bud. I ain't gonna stop you from doing anything. Hell, I think that girl might be the best thing for you. Just make sure you do the right thing. If you let shit get out of hand, then the truth gotta come out, you get me?"

"That's why I won't make that mistake. I'm going to school for myself and that's all, so I know I can't allow this to get too crazy." Heero couldn't allow himself to be compromised. His future was at stake and he wasn't about to allow anyone to get in the way of his goals. No matter how nice, caring or beautiful or… Heero had to mentally slap himself to keep from continuing that thought.

"Yeah." Duo agreed, eyes looking upward as he thought about his friend's situation. He was lucky that Hilde came from a similar background. He didn't have to worry about this. "But sometimes you can't stop what's coming. Love is a bitch, my guy."

"I've never let that get to me, I can't let it happen now." Heero's tone was determined. He couldn't get involved. It wouldn't work out for either party involved.

"Hm." Duo eyed zeroed in on his buddy on the bed. "I think you forget sometimes that you're human, and you have a need to be loved." Duo then thought of his own girl, grinning as he did so. That was his ideal for living.

Heero raised an eyebrow at this statement, looking confused at his braided friend's odd sentimentality.

"I mean, doesn't everyone?"

* * *

Those two days passed. Heero did his dirt and headed back to school. It was actually refreshing to be back. He wasn't gone for too long, but now knowing what he had at school, it made him want to get away from his usual habitat faster than before. He walked in early for his first class and not surprised to be greeted by the one person in school who could do that.

Relena checked up on him, hoping that everything was alright. Heero assured her he was well, appreciating the concern but not really appreciating how her platinum haired friend looked upon them with a mischievous smirk. Was that her own Duo, this Dorothy person?

The day progressed and Lunch time came. As usual, Heero separated himself, still wanting to have his alone time. Relena of course was surrounded by her friends. Friends who now had some questions they wanted answered.

"You did what!?" Dorothy nearly shrieked when Relena had let slip that she had visited Heero at home. "That's… incredibly bold of you, Miss Relena… I'm… impressed, to be honest."

Trowa and Quatre both looked at each other, also surprised at this revelation. Of course, they both knew what kind of living conditions Heero came from. Relena must really like this kid if she decided to continue to look for him after seeing what his neighborhood looked like, Trowa thought.

"It's no big deal, I just dropped off his school work." Relena said, playing down Dorothy's shock.

"No big deal…" Dorothy huffed. "Going to Heero's house out of the blue is not 'no big deal'." Dorothy continued. "So, did he take you to his room and get a little 'private time' with our dearly beloved Miss Relena?"

"Good lord, Dorothy." Relena rolled her eyes. "No, and he wasn't he even home for most of the time I was there. I caught him at the end, when I was about to leave."

"And what kind of home does our stoic classmate reside in? Was it a nice house somewhere on the east end?" Dorothy asked, forked eyebrows raised in interest. Trowa and Quatre were both also curious to hear this.

Relena was about to eat something when she paused at Dorothy's questioning. She wasn't sure if she should give out any kind of information regarding Heero's home. She remembered how much shame it brought him just to have her see where he came from. It wasn't her place to speak about it, even to some of her closest friends. "No. Let's just say it's… more modest than that." Relena knew that she had classes in rooms that were almost as big as Heero's whole apartment. She didn't know if the others would understand.

"So like a loft or condo…?" Dorothy asked, wondering why Relena was being coy with this particular detail.

"Something like that." Relena nodded as she continued to eat.

Dorothy shrugged. "Well, okay then."

Quatre gave Trowa a look. Trowa nodded, knowing what that look meant. He would have to figure things out on his own. There had to be more to this.

"Anyway, we're heading to Quatre's place after school, gonna come?" Dorothy continued. "And yes, you can bring your boyfriend if you like."

With a roll of the eyes, Relena replied. "Sure, but I'll be late. I promised some underclassmen that I would tutor them a bit after school."

"Ah, always the Good Samaritan." Dorothy teased.

"Just lending a helping hand."

"I'm sure Heero loves that about you." Dorothy watched Relena shake her head at that comment and laughed.

* * *

"Thank you Relena!"

"Yeah, we appreciate the help, sometimes this stuff just overwhelms us, you know?"

"No problem, glad I could be of help." Relena smiled at the pair of first year girls as they thanked her. She watched them run off and decided to make her way out of the building. It was already an hour and a half since school ended. She knew Pagan would be pulling up at any second. From there she would go and meet Dorothy and the rest at Quatre's place. With her bag over her shoulder she took off.

The classroom she had been in was next to the gymnasium and Relena decided to cut through there as it was a bit of a shortcut. As she proceeded, she noticed some noise coming from a specific room there. Curiosity got the best of her and she wondered who was still here. It seemed like it was coming from the room with all the weights and workout equipment. She took careful steps and walked up to the entrance.

She looked around and noticed that there was a treadmill being used.

Used by… Heero.

She was stuck in place as she watched Heero, his face showing complete focus on his running. He was wearing shorts and a green muscle shirt. He was clearly in very good shape, his arms were cut up and well defined. She watched as she noticed some sweat drop and travel down the angles of his neck and into the middle of his chest. It made her wonder if his pectoral muscles were equally well kept as his arms. Maybe there were some abs he was hiding under that shirt as well that she wouldn't have minded seeing. Relena shook her head, surprised at the thoughts racing through her mind.

Her cheeks began to flare up and she quickly turned around, almost dropping her bag on the floor. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself. Her face was still hot from all that inappropriate thinking.

Dorothy would have a field day if she knew how flustered these relatively tame thoughts made her. She closed her eyes and took one last breath before sneaking her way out. As much as she would like to talk to Heero, she also didn't want to bother his workout.

And as she was about to walk away, his voice stopped her right in her tracks.

"Relena?"

"Um, hey." She turned around to face him. He had moved from his spot on the treadmill and made his way towards her.

"What're you doing here this late?" Heero asked, thinking he might have been the only student still left in school.

"I, uh, was tutoring some students when classes ended." She explained. 'Oh god, I think I can make out some abs through his shirt.' Her face burned at those thoughts again and she swallowed hard, trying to fight the heat developing in her. "What're you still doing here?"

"I had some time, wanted to use the equipment here." Heero began. "They said I could stay if I closed up the gym for them."

"Oh okay." Relena smiled. "Well, I apologize if I interrupted you. I was about to leave now."

"It's fine." Heero told her. "I was done here anyway." As he said that he went and turned off the lights to the room. They both moved out and Heero threw the locks on as he closed up shop as he had promised.

"I assume your ride is out there?" Heero asked they walked off together.

"He should be." Relena knew Pagan would probably be waiting for her already. "You know, we can take you home if you want, you don't have to wait for the bus."

"Don't worry about it." Heero didn't need her to do that for him. He was fine as is.

"I mean, we've been to your place before."

"And I'd rather you not have to see it again." Heero said with furrowed brows. Still not liking that she did that. She put herself in harm's way for nothing. And make no mistake, Heero very much thought he was nothing.

"I don't mean to offend but you should really try and get over what you feel about where you come from." Relena started, looking over to him. He looked irritated that she said that, which she expected. "At least with me, anyway. I already told you I don't care."

"I do."

"I get it, but I'm on your side." She continued on, wanting him to trust her. "I'll never think of you any differently." 'That's because you don't know the truth, Relena.' Heero metally responded to her.

"Hn." They walked through the basketball court. Heero noticed a ball was still out. As they got close to it he dropped his bag so that he could pick up the ball and take a shot. It was nothing but net. He watched as the ball bounced back to him.

"You're really good." Relena had her arms crossed as she watched him take another shot. "Not like I know much about this sport but I can tell how great you are."

He shook his head. "Not that good, really."

"No need to be so modest, Heero." The honey blonde chuckled. "I saw you play, remember? Why not play for the school?"

"Not interested, I just play for myself." Heero took one more jump shot. It surprisingly bounced off the rim and headed towards Relena's direction.

"Whoa!" She was startled as the ball bounced to her but shocked herself as it landed right in her hands. She blinked, not knowing how she caught it. She looked over at Heero who shrugged and nodded towards the hoop. "You want me to shoot?"

"Give it a try." Heero watched her stand there awkwardly with the ball in her small hands.

"I'm not very good at this." Relena laughed as she got closer to the hoop and removing her bag, knowing that her upper body strength wasn't enough for the distance she was currently standing at. "Okay, here!" Relena didn't so much as shoot the ball as she pushed it away from her. "Ugh…" Relena groaned as the ball barely touched the net and hit the back wall. "Told you." Heero found it… amusing. He gave her a lighthearted smirk before picking the ball back up and approached her.

"Here." Heero gave her the ball back.

"Don't tell me you want to see that again?" Relena just wasn't a sports person. She knew she looked silly doing this.

"Just take it." Heero pressed. Relena sighed and followed his command.

"Now what?"

Heero moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her, hands covering her's. Relena shivered at the closeness they shared and bit her bottom lip. Her breathing had taken a break as she held it. She watched as he adjusted her grip on the ball, making it look like how he would shoot it. He observed as she struggled to keep the ball in her hold but pressed on her hands tightly enough to establish a hold on the ball. Heero also felt goosebumps from the contact. He fought back any awkward actions his body might take. It took a lot of restraint to do anything more considering how pleasant her skin felt and how nice she smelled. He bit his lower lip as well before letting go of her hands and saying "There, try again."

"R-Right…" Relena's breathing normalized again and she nodded. She aimed and nodded. "Here it goes." She took her shot, releasing the ball into the air… this time hitting the front of the rim, with the ball ricocheting away from their direction. Relena laughed and sighed. "This just isn't for me."

"You got rim." Heero mentioned. "Better than before."

"Not saying much." Relena crossed her arms and smiled at Heero's attempt to make her see the glass half full. She relaxed herself and leaned back into Heero, surprising him. "Though I'm sure if you spent enough time teaching me, I would probably be able to develop something resembling a shot."

"Maybe." Her scent was intoxicating and how she was currently using him as a standing support, there was no escaping it. He looked down at her, she wore a content smile and she moved her head to match gazes with him.

"Well, you're good so I'm sure you'd be able to make me even a little better."

Heero shrugged. They held stares, feeling something developing as they continued to get lost in deep seas of blue. Neither knowing how to continue from here. Heero narrowed his eyes as Relena bit her lip and broke away from his scrutinizing look. Their staring match was causing her heart to skip and filled her stomach with butterflies. She felt him tense up but every time they got close his body reacted the same way and he never pushed her away or broke it off. She smiled, hoping that meant he was letting her in.

Her hopes were raised even more when he caught her off guard, taking one of his arms and wrapping her tightly into him.

Heero should have stopped himself but he didn't want this to end. His eyes narrowed more, battling his frustration and his weird feeling towards her. 'Please stay away from me'. Those were the first words he ever uttered to her. And now here he was, not allowing her to get away. Boy, did he fuck this one up, Heero thought.

Relena shifted in his hold, her hands moving up to take a hold on his arm. Her hands gently glided up and down his tough, exposed skin. It caused shockwaves to produce in both of their bodies. Their breathing became stuttered and this whirlwind of emotions picked up and became tougher to deal with when they chose to lock eyes once more.

She held on tightly to his arm as she looked through his brown bangs, wishing she could take a hand through them. She could see some perspiration from his work out still visible on his forehead, but that didn't matter, she still wanted to feel more.

Heero took his free hand and seized the opportunity to run it through her perfect head of golden colored strands. Relena closed her eyes, loving the sensation of his hand gently flying through her head. Heero could hear her exhale, sounding satisfied. His hand traveled downward, very lightly dragging his fingertips to her chin, lifting it upward.

He heard her release a low gasp. Heero eyes switched to focus on her lips, her mouth slightly open. Her eyes remained closed, Relena didn't know what Heero would do next, but she would let him take control. She wanted to see if his actions said anything about how he felt about her. For her part, she was melting into his hold. She felt ready to return whatever affection he showed. A month after their strange first meeting and here she was now.

Falling for Heero Yuy.

Her body began quivering when she felt Heero raise his fingers to smoothly run them over her lips. Heero swallowed a large lump in his throat as he did so. Her lips felt soft to his touch and Relena moved her head around very slowly to feel more. She opened her eyelids halfway just to get enough of a look at him. She felt as if this were a dream, like she was floating in space alone with him. "Heero…" His name came out of her, barely above a whisper.

They way she said his name, made him tremble. But it was also soothing. His index finger ran once more over before he found himself leaning downward, deciding he would close the space between their lips.

Relena closed her eyes again. She wanted to kiss him. To let him know she cared and that she wanted, and perhaps needed him in her life. She felt his breath on her as he got closer.

"Relena…" she heard him mutter.

She was ready.

**AN:**** Thank you for stopping by! Joy Division - _An Ideal for Living_**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:**** Have fun everybody! That is all. **

**Chapter 9: Love Will Tear Us Apart**

Relena headed to the patio in Quatre's backyard. There was a pool table set up where Trowa and Quatre had a game going on. Dorothy had her feet curled up underneath her on the couch they had set up there as she chewed on the bottom of her pen while looking down at a textbook, clearly thinking about some school work she had been going over. Quatre warmly greeted her while Trowa noticed she looked a little… down?

"Everything okay?" asked the owner of emerald eyes. He leaned over, taking a shot, sending a ball in the side pocket.

"Yeah…" Relena sighed, dropping herself beside Dorothy.

"You sure?" Trowa wasn't quite convinced. He adjusted himself to take another shot again, this time missing his mark. "Damn."

"I'm sure…" came a weary response. "Just a little tired."

Trowa watched Quatre go as he continued to analyze his friend. She did look tired, but also kind of… upset? He couldn't quite put a finger on it. "Tutoring take that much out of you?"

'Let's go with that.' Relena thought. "Maybe I used up too much of my brain power today." She wasn't exactly lying, the girl knew.

"Not bad Quatre…" Trowa complimented his best friend's shot. He returned his attention back to Relena. "Need me to bring you something to drink? You look like you could use it."

"Got something hard?" Relena half jokingly asked.

Trowa chuckled at the request. "I think you're forgetting who's house we're at." He moved over to a cooler they had at the side of the pool table where he grabbed her a bottle of water.

"Can we make an exception this one time, Quatre?" Relena continued to kid around. "Thanks, Trowa."

Quatre shook his head, grinning at her. "Even if I did, there's not a single drop of alcohol in this entire place."

"Believe him, I asked a long time ago." Dorothy added, eyes still focused on her school work. "What's got you so thirsty all of a sudden?"

Relena threw her head back, eyes pointed at the blue sky above. "Just feeling a little spent."

"Wow, no more after school activities for you." the platinum blonde moved her focus to the girl sitting beside her. She noticed her friend spacing out. Dorothy raised an eyebrow at this.

Relena took a sip of her water and then bit her lip, still trying to figure out what went so wrong. The frustration started to become visible and Dorothy and Trowa exchanged looks before looking back at their clearly distraught friend.

"I got a feeling this has less to do with school and more to do with something else." Trowa commented, setting up his turn after Quatre missed his mark.

"I agree." Dorothy concurred. "Since when does school exhaust you this much?"

'Since a certain new student arrived…' Relena kept that one to herself. "Third year in the same school, it can get old after a while." she shrugged.

Trowa watched his shot miss and smirked. "Didn't expect to hear that."

"Cynicism from Relena…" Dorothy put her books to the side and crossed her arms, wanting to know where all of this was coming from. "This is amazing. What really happened to you?"

"Nothing…" Relena wasn't going to discuss this.

Trowa analyzed her body language, continuing to give signals of a girl lost in her head. "Not sure I buy that." Quatre nodded along in agreement with his friend.

"Same." Dorothy piled on. "Will we be getting details or are we going to be left to speculate?"

"It's simple, sometimes you're just not having a good day. It happens." Relena said, trying to deflect from getting to the truth.

"You showed nothing all day that would indicate that you felt that way." Dorothy retorted. Trowa felt the same way.

Relena took another sip of her water and cleared her throat. "Maybe I'm just good at hiding it?"

"Maybe." Dorothy shrugged. "Still not buying what you're selling."

"Who says it was for sale?" Relena sent back at her. "It is what it is and that's all I'm going to say about it."

Trowa was surprised to see Relena be so dismissive. They all were really.

"My my, aren't we testy today!' Dorothy huffed.

Relena sighed, knowing she was coming off a little bitchy.. "Sorry… I'm just tired. Give me a little time and I'll be okay."

Everyone else looked at each other and shook their heads, though they all chose to back off and allowed their friend some time to regain herself.

Relena closed her eyes, going back to replay the events from earlier.

* * *

"_Relena…" she heard him mutter._

_She was ready._

_Heero was ready to seal the deal, his lips got closer. And as he was about to make the space between their mouths disappear… thoughts from before flashed into his head. _

'_Remember, two different worlds and two different lives.'_

'_Never forget that.' _

_Uncle J's words crashed into his head._

'_You better be careful with that girl.'_

_Heero froze, remembering what was said and who he was. From there, more images of everyday street life began to resurface. A slideshow played in the theatre of his mind of moments in his pathetic life. Drugs… Guns… Police… No biological family to speak of… Heero remembered now. This was who he was and all he could ever be. _

_A guy who had to take time off of school just to hustle hard. _

_And a person like that had no right to love a person like her. _

_This sad realization hit him and he grunted, closing his eyes and then pulling away. He slowly backed off, letting the honey blonde go. Relena's eyes opened as she felt Heero move. She blinked, confusion starting to set in as she gave Heero a curious look _

"_Um… is everything okay?" Relena tried to compose herself, smoothing out her uniform and suddenly feeling awkward. She watched him stand there, eyebrows furrowed and looking away from her. She noticed how he kept his fists clenched, giving the impression of anger almost. _

_Heero shook his head. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have done that."_

"_What do you mean?" Relena was lost. Why would he apologize? Relena was ready to return his… kiss. This entire past month since their initial meeting had pretty much been leading up to this moment. _

"_Taking… advantage of you like that… It isn't right." Heero reached over to squeeze his shoulder, a feeling of uncomfort starting to overwhelm him. _

"_Heero you weren't doing anything wrong, I was…. I wanted you to… you know…" As she spoke, she watched Heero start to shake his ._

"_You don't know what you're saying." Heero carried on. "This is wrong. I shouldn't have done this… I don't have the right to."_

"_I'm not quite sure what you're getting at, you're not making any sense." Relena was just not getting this turn of events at all. They were about to share their most intimate moment together yet and now Heero starts acting weird. At this point she started to feel self-conscious, feeling like something was wrong with her. "Is… it something I did? Something about me that you just realized you didn't li-"_

"_Stop!" it almost came off like a growl. Relena flinched and Heero immediately regretted taking that tone with her. "Shit… I'm sorry… forgive me." Heero walked over and grabbed his bag. "I'm not at all right for you." He kept his back towards her. He couldn't see her eyes shaking like they were right now. "I can only ask that we start again, this time as strangers." Heero began walking away, heading towards the exit. _

"_Heero, wait!" Relena grabbed her bag as well. Nothing was adding up, her mind was spinning and she had no clue was just happened. They went from damn near kissing to Heero claiming he wanted to be 'strangers'. There had to be more that he wasn't telling her. She began chasing after him. "Don't go yet." She continued, trying to catch up. "I don't understand anything you're saying. Talk to me, Heero!" She reached over to grab him by the arm._

_Heero felt the contact and pulled hard away from her._

_Relena gasped and stood in place as Heero gave her his signature glare. Heero saw the sad bewilderment in her eyes and felt too tired to continue staring her down. He shook his head once more and looked away. _

"_H-Heero…" she said meekly. "Why…?"_

"_Believe me… it's better this way." Heero explained. "You can do better than me. So for the good of both of us… leave me alone."_

_Heero didn't want to hear her anymore. He walked off and made for the exit like he intended… leaving a shocked, confused and saddened girl in his wake. Strange emotions started swirling up within her. She had no idea what just took place. She let him go._

_She didn't follow. But that didn't mean she would not get an explanation. She had a feeling things were gonna get strange between them, but because of the weird things he started saying, there had to be more to the story then he let on. Relena rubbed her eyes, wiping away any moisture that threatened to fall. She felt drained all of a sudden. How they went from almost becoming an item to… this, she had no clue. _

_Though she wasn't going to give up. Relena sighed, thinking over his words._

'_You can do better than me.'_

'_It's better this way.'_

'_I don't have the right to.'_

_She needed him to explain himself, and now it was just a matter of trying to get him to do that for her. Deep breaths came next. _

_Once she felt ready enough to leave, she began making her way to the still waiting Pagan. This was not how she envisioned ending her day. They had gotten this far. Why regress out of nowhere? The girl was terribly perplexed. _

"_Heero…" she whispered as she walked on. "Don't run away from me…"_

* * *

The next day came.

It was off as expected. It seemed like Heero intentionally arrived to first period late, just so he didn't have to worry about Relena possibly greeting him in the morning like she had been doing. Relena noticed this and of course she expected things to get weird. She knew she would have to find someway to get him alone somewhere. They had to talk.

If Heero truly didn't feel anything for her, then fine. She could live with that. But after his bizarre actions from the day before, no way she would just allow that to go unquestioned.

His words though… they echoed in her head again.

'You can do better than me.'

'I don't have the right to.'

'It's better this way.'

There was some deep rooted self loathing going on with him. She could tell. And it actually hurt her to hear him say those things. It still stung as she remembered them. If there was something he needed help dealing with, then they could talk. Relena wanted to help if he would let her. But that would be the biggest issue. Heero wasn't the most forthcoming person in the world. She fully expected him to be evasive. Though before they got to that point, she had to get him alone first. Heero would most likely not want to be seen by her. She was going to do what she could.

Clarity was needed.

Lunch time arrived. Relena separated herself from her friends. She went on a mission to find Heero. He never really spent much time in the cafeteria, so she didn't bother looking around there. She looked around outside. There was a lot of ground to cover there. She ended up spending a lot of time looking for any sign of him… nothing. She spent whatever time she had left wandering some of the halls and staircases. She knew he had to be around here somewhere. She sprinted down from the third floor, trying to get to the first before it was time for her next class. Maybe she had missed an area, she thought. But as she descended, the bell rang. She sighed, knowing the search would be over for now.

"Where are you… Heero?" She looked down the staircase and headed for her next destination. At least she knew he would be at the bus stop. Maybe that would present a better opportunity, she mulled over that thought as she walked on.

Very carefully, Heero slid his way to the top of the staircase that Relena had just been in. He crossed his arms and leaned over the railing, watching her descend. He knew she would try and look for him. He could tell she wasn't the type to give up. So he turned the tables and trailed her. He watched from a distance as she had looked around outside and quietly followed her as she tried to look around the building for him.

"You really need to stop, Relena…" Heero told her to leave him alone. He wasn't sure how much clearer he could get. He did start to wonder if he had hurt her with his rejection. He definitely knew he had left her confused by it. As he watched her disappear, his arms stiffened at the idea of him hurting her. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but if that's what needed to be done, then so be it. "I'm doing this for both of us." Heero continued, speaking to no one. "So please, let me keep you safe."

He got up and moved along to his next class.

* * *

Classes finished and Heero quickly rushed out to get to his stop. He would have to keep his eyes open. If that pink car of her's decided to drive past him, he would have to find a way to hide. Knowing her, she might have her driver pull up on him again.

With that thought floating around, he put his head down and carried on.

"Mind if join you?"

Heero looked over his shoulder to see that Trowa kid pop out of nowhere. He gave him his usual glare before continuing to walk off.

"I'll take that as a yes." Trowa followed.

It most certainly wasn't a yes, Heero thought, getting annoyed. "If Relena sent you, don't waste your time. Go away."

Trowa smiled. "No she didn't. But that does answer something I was gonna ask you about."

"Hn." Heero grunted. What was this kid's goal?

"Something happened between the two of you."

Heero stopped and turned to give him his full attention. Trowa noticed that Heero was clearly not happy to see him. "What did she tell you?"

Trowa shrugged. "Nothing really. I can just tell. She was acting weird yesterday and wasn't at lunch today. Very unusual. At first I thought it might have something to do with her father, but since I see you everyday I thought I would approach you. And considering how you've reacted to me so far, I think it's safe to say you're the cause of this strange behavior."

Heero should have never responded. He should've just kept on walking.

"Want to let me know what's up?" Trowa asked, wanting to see if he could get anything at all from Mr. Yuy.

"No." Heero said flatly.

Trowa chuckled. "This is my friend we're talking about."

"I don't care." Heero did like this guy's nosy attitude. "It's none of your business."

"Again, this is my friend we're talking about. My friends are my business."

"Then ask her. You're starting to piss me off." Heero snarled. Trowa was really aggravating him now.

Trowa sighed and stepped to Heero. "You know what, since I already know that you're the issue, I won't press you for more information. Sound good?" Maybe he can get Relena to slip and find out through her.

"Are we done here?" Heero didn't bother waiting for an answer. He began walking off again.

"How did you pay to come here?" Trowa wanted to get to another topic that was bothering him.

"What?" Heero's head snapped back, once again having to look at him.

"This may not come off the right way, so please pardon my rudeness, but I know you don't come from money." Trowa explained his reasoning, telling Heero what he knew about him. "The North End isn't an especially nice part of town. No offense."

"How the hell do you know where I'm from?" Heero might have to drop this kid right here right now. His fists balled up. This guy was really digging up information on him.

Trowa grinned. "Don't get so worked up. I haven't been checking up on you or anything. The information just sort of came to me. I wasn't looking for it."

Heero wasn't sure he believed him. "Don't bullshit me."

Trowa waved him off. "I'm doing nothing of the sort. It's just… this is a pretty expensive school. I don't think there's anyone who's ever attended this place with your background."

"Your point being?" Heero's eyelids began to lower. What was Trowa after?

"Just want to know how you managed to get into St. Gabriel. I realize that it seems a little too personal a question, but I think it's important to know this stuff if you're gonna get close to Relena." He once figured Relena would get the full scoop on Heero Yuy, but right now seemed to be a good a time as any to ask these questions.

Heero looked away. "No ones getting close to anyone."

Something about how Heero looked away when he replied made Trowa curious. "Weird, from what I can tell, she seems to be really taken with you."

Heero clenched his teeth before responding. "It's… one sided. I assure you." Just bringing her up started to throw him off. He trembled for a second there.

"Are we sure?"

Heero nodded. 'Yeah…"

Trowa wasn't sold. Let's try this approach, he thought. "Well okay, so you don't mind if I go after her then?"

Heero's jaw tightened, he returned his glare back to him. "At this point, she's better off with you than me."

Trowa tilted his head at him. He was being weirdly vulnerable all of a sudden. What went on between them? "That's an… interesting response."

"Can I go now? I'm honestly not feeling well." Heero ran a hand through his head before rubbing his eyes. This topic exhausted him.

Emerald eyes scanned the boy with untamed brown bangs. He seemed a little sapped of energy all of a sudden. He was honestly getting a little tough to look at. He noticed Heero's shoulders even started to slump. "I guess you can go."

Heero nodded. He gave Trowa one last look before turning away, heading for his bus.

"Well that was something." Trowa stated once Heero was far enough away. The kid seemed very tortured about something, he observed. It made him think about Relena's role in all this. Trowa shoved his hands in his pockets and watched the kid go, noticing less confidence in his stride.

"I was right, this is going to be an interesting year." Trowa chuckled.

**AN:** **Joy Division - "Love Will Tear Us Apart"**

'


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:**** I already have the other part written out in my head, but decided to split it in two. I wanna be dramatic that way. Hope you like it!**

**Chapter 10: Same Shade As Concrete Pt. 1**

Reaching the end of another week at St. Gabriel, and things were just as weird as the end of last week. This time, others started to notice. Seemingly out of nowhere, everyone was starting to see Heero Yuy give Relena the cold shoulder. For those who weren't in the know, this was bizarre. It wasn't that long ago that people were wondering if they were already dating behind the scenes. Heero didn't speak to anyone who wasn't Relena and Relena was the only one who could approach Heero and engage with him. They were already forgetting the old days when those same people were wondering when Relena would start going out with Trowa Barton.

Relena's closests friends were equally puzzled. Trowa may have gotten a little information on the sudden change when he confronted Heero, but there were still some details missing. Dorothy obviously wanted answers, too, but she wasn't getting very far. Relena was choosing to be vague with her, but the platinum blonde could tell how frustrated the situation made her. Why Heero suddenly soured on her friend, Dorothy had no clue. She could see Relena try and get Heero's attention, but to no avail. He was good at ducking her. Dorothy found it rather cowardly.

Of course, she didn't know the context behind Heero's actions. That was what dictated all of this.

Once again, Relena tried to find Heero as lunch time fell upon them. Dorothy advised her to give it up. If Heero wanted to be an asshole, he could do it by himself. But the always persistent Relena gave it another go. If Heero truly wanted nothing to do with her, then he would have to just man up and say why. Nothing cryptic. Just the cold honest truth. She had to find him.

Speed walking through the hallways again, Relena searched the school. She asked around before searching and oddly enough no one could ever point out where he was. It looked like Heero would only be found if he let himself be found. Of course, they did have two classes together, but Heero always rushed out. And the idea wasn't to get Heero stuck in the middle of a crowd and confront him there. Relena knew that would only aggravate him more. The idea was always to get him alone.

She continued on, time was winding down and she was beginning to lose hope. Maybe she should take Dorothy's advice and let him do as he pleases, the girl thought. But on the other hand, Relena knew herself. Leaving things like this would only continue to bother her. She moved forward, trying to find her target.

She got to the end of one hallway and turned a corner. She gasped when she noticed there was one person leaning on the wall in the middle of the empty corridor.

It was him. Arms crossed and eyes closed.

"Heero…" she whispered. She figured there was no way she caught him off guard. He was allowing this to happen. She hoped this meant he was willing to talk. From there, she approached.

Heero opened his eyes and looked to see her walk his way. He noticed a look of determination. As always, she carried herself with a sense of dignity and confidence. Even if there was doubt within her, she still showed a level of strength. He could tell, she was a strong willed girl. In some way… he figured she was probably much stronger than him. He was the one hiding from her, after all.

As she got close enough, she greeted him with a nod and a smile. "Was starting to think I would never get you alone again."

"Hn." Her smile still had the same effect on him as it usually did. But now wasn't the time to be taken by her… admittedly lovely features. He would give her some time with him. And he hoped it would be the end of this.

"So…" Relena spent all this time looking for him and now that he was here, she didn't even know where to start. "You've been okay?"

Heero shrugged. He wasn't elaborating anymore on that.

"Alright." Relena nodded. "Well, so… can we just get right into it? I'm sure you didn't let yourself be found for nothing."

"What do you want?" His monotone cut coldy into her. Relena could only sigh, bothered by how they regressed this much.

"You know what I want, Heero." Relena responded. "I need to know why you're doing this. Any explanation you've given me… it just doesn't make any sense."

Heero shook his head. "Not sure what's hard to figure out."

"A lot of it, really."

"I'm telling you to leave me alone. That's all I want. To be alone here." Heero didn't know how much more obvious he could be.

"But why?" Relena pleaded. "I thought we were… friends? Heero… remember? On the night of my party, you promised me we would be friends. Were you lying when you did that?"

A lump was forming in his throat and he swallowed it down. He remembered that night. How beautiful she looked and how she made him promise they would be, as she said, friends. He was going back on that, but not without good reason. "I was wrong to do that then, Relena. I can't and won't be your friend. And I certainly can't be… more than friends with you either."

"And this is because…?"

She was really digging into his eyes. It was embarrassing for Heero as he started to shake under her blue colored stare. She seemed confused, disappointed in him and even a little… sad. She wasn't even being forceful with her questioning, but he still felt like she was breaking him down.

"I… I'm not into repeating myself." Heero replied. "I told you everything on that day in the gym."

Relena replayed some of the things he had said to her when he chose not to kiss her.

'You can do better than me.'

'It's better this way.'

'I don't have the right to.'

She remembered wondering where these self hating thoughts came from. Then she recalled how much Heero hated where he was from. How ashamed he was of his origins. This actually irritated Relena. She had already accepted him, she told him as much. "Heero, I'm not sure how many more times I have to say this, I don't care where you're from. This is honestly frustrating me because I've already told you that none of that matters to me."

Heero wasn't trying to hear that, however. He knew she accepted him. And he was truly… grateful for that. But there was more that she didn't know. He didn't want to tell her. He once thought he had to eventually, but maybe he could just get through this by just pushing her away instead. "You just don't understand…" was all he could say.

"Yeah, you're right, and that's why I'm here, talking to you. Because I want to understand." There was annoyance in her tone and Heero couldn't blame her.

"It's just not… me and you can't work."

"Why?"

Heero looked away. His eyes narrowed in a different direction where she wasn't in sight. "Many things."

There he went being cryptic again. Relena shook her head and sighed. "Like?"

Heero didn't respond. He kept his eyes from her, refusing to be more specific. He was regretting doing this whole talk. He felt like he owed her this much, but now he figured this had been the wrong choice.

"I'm not going to get anything out of you, am I?" Again, Heero didn't respond.

Relena crossed her arms. What was the whole idea of letting her find him if he wasn't going to say anything? This was a waste of time for the two involved. "What was the point of all of this if you were gonna choose to remain silent or deliberately vague? Why bother?"

She was right. He was stupid for doing this. He tried to explain. "I'm sorry, just know that it's better for both of us."

Relena rolled her eyes at his stock answer. "I don't even know what that means. If this is that whole 'I hate where I'm from' thing you keep going to then… I don't even know what to say about that anymore."

"It just wouldn't work."

"Can you even look me in the eyes and say that?" He couldn't, he was a coward. He was from the North End of town. Murder, drugs, gangs and everything of the sort ruled his everyday life. Living was a constant struggle. There were many things to be fearful of where he came from. It made him as strong as he was today.

And yet, here he was, acting like a coward in front of a 17 year old rich girl, refusing to give a straight answer.

"You can't…" Relena was disappointed. She figured someone as tough as Heero could be more upfront with her. That he wasn't afraid to be honest. But here he was, dodging the truth just so he could push her away. And now this made her feel bad about herself.

"Maybe this was my fault."

Heero looked back at her. Her eyes focusing on the space between them, down towards the floor. There was nothing she did wrong. What was she talking about?

"I spent all this time trying to know you that you didn't find out all that much about me." Relena reasoned.

"Relena?" Heero wasn't sure where her logic was going.

"Because, maybe if you did know more about me…" Relena continued. Heero could have sworn he saw her tremble. "Then… you would know for sure that… I could love you no matter what."

'Fuck.' Not what he wanted to hear. Not in the slightest. His jaw clenched and his fists balled up. His chest felt like it could burst at any moment and for a second… he considered reaching out to pull her into an embrace. She stood with her head low and he felt the growing desire to comfort her. To let her know that there wasn't a single thing she did wrong. This was all on him.

His arms slowly began to move… but before he could get any further the bell finally rang and classes were to resume. These hallways would be flooded by people soon. He had to get away. He adjusted himself, readying himself to leave. He looked back at her once more. "I'm sorry, It shouldn't have gotten this far."

"Guess you're right…" she replied, looking back at him, no expression graced her features. "Goodbye, Heero."

He really hated to see her face with no smile. But now he would have to work on getting over that. He nodded and took off.

Relena watched him walk away. This left her feeling emotionally drained. She wasn't looking forward to the rest of the day. At least the weekend was coming up. She turned to walk the opposite direction. "Heero…" she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was time to move on. He left quite an impact on her in the time spent here in school. But… if he didn't want to be a part of her, then she wouldn't make him. She would get over this. She could get over this.

'Right?' The question to herself was a lot more unsure than she would have liked.

* * *

Heero walked towards the large project housing buildings that he frequented. One of which Hilde lived in. She wasn't home at the moment but he was going to meet Duo there. There were people all over the place just hanging out on this early weekend afternoon. All types of hustlers posted up here. This place was a hotbed for his kind of activity. He felt bad that Duo's girl had to live here.

He noticed Alex and Mueller there. Something about them looked off. They seemed a little… antsy. Nervous almost. He shrugged and didn't think much of it.

He saw Duo talking to some guys in a crowd. When his braided hair friend noticed him approach, Duo immediately ran up to him. "Hey man, let's keep it moving." Heero wasn't sure what that was about but he followed Duo off in a different direction from the crowds outside.

"What's up?" Heero asked.

"You ain't hear about what happened a couple nights ago?" Duo tried not to be too loud.

Heero shook his head, not knowing what news he might have missed. A certain honey blonde had been screwing up his thinking as of late.

Duo looked around before continuing. "Septum. That name ring a bell? It should."

Heero thought for a second before nodding. "One of Treize's main men."

"Shit you could argue that's his main man." Duo responded. "Guess what, he's dead."

Heero looked at Duo, disbelief on his face.

Duo nodded at him. "That's what I heard. I think Treize was trying to keep the news of his death on the down low, but when a guy of his position gets taken out, it's kinda hard to keep that from getting to the streets."

He knew there were guys trying to get after Treize. People either trying to get to him or people close to him. A lot of money were on their heads. Treize obviously had the biggest bounty but someone like Septum would also get someone paid well. Septum was the guy who got Treize all of his connections and was a key figure in Treize's rise to power. Septum, or The General as he was known on the streets, was a made man and you had to be an idiot to take up that kind of bounty.

"Know who might have done it?"

Duo shook his head. "No, I'll have to get a little more nosy to get some info. This is gonna be bad. You know Treize will get his revenge."

"Yeah…" Heero looked around, wondering who would be stupid enough to kill someone that close to Treize. "How'd it happen?"

"The General's death? From what I hear it happened at some warehouse. They found his ride with his people shot dead. Apparently he got the worst out of it. Poked up to death, you know what I'm saying?" Duo said, sharing what he had learned. "That's some up close and personal shit right there."

"Things are gonna get hotter out here." Heero mentioned. He was not trying to be in the middle of a street war.

"You ain't kidding." Duo chuckled. "Already hot as it is. But anyway… how are you and the missus?"

"See anything crazy around here since then?"

"Since Septum got killed?" Duo shrugged. "Not yet. But like I was saying, you and Relena, what's been going on with that?"

"Keep your eyes open, things will get complicated." Heero responded.

"Yeah, yeah, I know but the girl man, that Rele-" Duo tried again.

"Make sure you're strapped if you need to be."

"Right…" Was he purposefully changing the subject? Yeah, he was Duo realized. "Either you just don't wanna talk about her or shit went south, which is it?"

Heero began walking away, back towards the front of the buildings.

Duo sighed. "My guess is the latter." He followed his friend. "What happened, man?"

Relena was the last thing he wanted to talk about. He would refuse to speak on it. He had to work on moving on. He had to convince himself that he had more important matters to attend to then some girl from school. His life was more complicated than stupid high school drama. That's what he said to convince himself.

"Not gonna talk huh?" Heero shook his head.

"It's the crime life ain't it?" Duo asked him as he caught up.

Heero remained silent. He wasn't getting into it.

"I had a feeling that would be an issue. I'll be honest, I'm not even sure what I would do in your shoes." Duo tried to sympathize.

Heero grunted in response.

"Look man if you wanna talk I'm here, you know I got you." Heero waved him off and Duo rolled his eyes. "Aye…" He was about to continue inquiring about Heero's bizarre love life when he heard somebody yelling.

"Hey! Hey! He's coming around. Treize!"

Everybody froze. Heero was immediately on alert. Duo looked around, watching as people stuck to the ground like there was glue under their shoes. Nobody moved and everybody held their breath.

Slowly a large black SUV with it's windows tinted came driving down. Three cars followed behind, detailed in the same manner of color and tint. All the vehicles pulled up to the sidewalk. The window in the back row of the SUV rolled down, unveiling Treize Khushrenada. He wore a gentle smile as he looked into the crowd of people watching him. He rested a hand on his chin, his eyes scanning all in attendance. He smirked and pointed at two individuals, he beckoned them to come to his window.

It was Alex and Mueller.

Heero and Duo looked on at the pair. Both wondering what he needed them for.

The two summoned by Treize looked at each other before nodding. They clearly didn't want to talk to him. They walked over and people watched, no one moved. No sudden actions. They just spectated, seeing where this was going. What Treize needed from the infamous duo, no one knew.

Heero and Duo were far enough away so they couldn't hear what was being discussed. They could only read body language. Alex and Mueller looked like they were trying to convince Treize of something. They were getting increasingly animated while the town Kingpin looked on with a calm patience. This back and forth went on for a little while longer. Eventually they got to a point where Treize seemed okay with the two men. He patted the two on the back, waved at everyone and his window raised to a close.

The two men came walking back, looking relieved. Treize's ride moved off the sidewalk ready to take off. Everyone exhaled and started moving again. Heero and Duo were curious about the discussion they just had with the most powerful man of the seedy underbelly of this town. However, neither of them would get a chance to get anything from Alex and Mueller.

Two of the three cars that followed behind Treize moved on to follow their leader. The last one didn't. The passenger side window came opening down.

Heero's sixth sense kicked and his blood went cold. He snapped his head towards Duo who was about to move to meet up with Alex and Mueller. He pulled his friend by the arm. "W-What?" Duo asked as Heero suddenly jerked him backwards.

"RUN!" Heero yelled.

The sound of gunfire came in rapid succession. This was no handgun that was being shot. All Heero could hear was the sound of screams and bullets flying. The last thing he noticed before running for a place to hide was Alex and Mueller pulling out of their waists, firing back.

Heero and Duo headed for the back of Hilde's building, keeping low and running as fast as they could.

"Fuck!" Duo yelled.

They got close to the building, the two rushing for cover. Heero flinched as he felt a couple bullets shoot off some of the building right next to his ear. His heart was going a mile a minute. For a second, things started moving in slow motion. And he wondered if this would be the day that he dies. Did he have any regrets? Maybe. But he told himself a long time ago, he wasn't afraid to die. There was nothing to be scared of. This might have been the ultimate conclusion for him anyway. Maybe he was kidding himself the entire time that he could escape. Perhaps it was time that it all ended here. As a bloodied up corpse.

'Because I care about you.' A familiar voice echoed in his head.

Relena.

* * *

The honey blonde girl sat on a bench under a wide gazebo that she had in her backyard. The weather was nice and a cool breeze swept through her hair and lightly brushing over her skin. It felt relaxing. Good time to take this all in before it starts to get chillier outside.

Trowa was there. Leaning over a pillar keeping the gazebo up.

Quatre and Dorothy were there earlier. They left as they had some matters to attend to. They invited Trowa and Relena out to dinner and of course they accepted. But before all of that Relena had to withstand a barrage of questions about Heero. Mostly from Dorothy. But instead of going into detail, as there wasn't that much to give out anyway, she just assured everyone that all was fine. The two had reached an understanding and they would move on.

No one was sure to believe her or not, but their friend wasn't going deeper into it. They would have to take what they could get from her.

From speaking with Heero last week, to where Relena was now, things had changed pretty quickly. Trowa wasn't sure what to make of it. "So, are you sure this whole Heero business is over?" he asked, now that he had some private time with her.

"Please, not anymore questions…" Relena sighed.

Trowa smiled. "Sorry, you just seem a little unsure about the whole thing."

"I've already said it all, there's nothing else to discuss." Relena closed her eyes and took in some more light wind as it crawled through her hair. This, however, triggered something. The breeze felt like fingers going through her head. Like… when Heero had done something similar before. She recalled the moment at his house and then at the gym. Her heart skipped a beat and she shook it off. She would not allow him to take up anymore space in her thoughts.

Heero said it was over and she accepted. She sighed again before leaning over to rest her chin on her hand.

"You okay?" Trowa noticed Relena look a bit off.

"Yeah… I am." she said with a groan

Trowa smirked, not believing her for a second. Well, it seemed like his friend was in need of some cheering up. And well, if Heero had truly thrown in the towel, maybe he could try his hand. He once thought that Relena could only be a friend to him, but now… perhaps he could actually change that way of thinking. They made sense after all, their best friends were already dating and Trowa of course found Relena attractive.

Trowa remembered when he asked Heero if it was okay if he went after Relena.

He was joking when he asked that. Things change, however.

"Hey, Relena."

"Hm?" She looked up to meet his emerald eyes.

"C'mon, let's go grab some lunch, what do you say?" he asked with a smile.

Relena knew Trowa noticed something about her, and that he was trying to keep her spirits up. He had always been a nice guy. And had always been nice specifically to her. It's what made everyone think there was something between them in the first place. She never really considered Trowa as anything other than an incredible friend. Nothing romantic. But, with this Heero thing unexpectedly falling through and her feeling like it was time to move on from that bizarre situation, maybe… maybe she should give him a shot, Relena thought. Gotta start somewhere, she thought.

She smiled warmly at him. "Sure, why not?"

**AN:**** Well... did you like it? lol Thank you for reading. Oh, and got an email saying my order for Volume 14 of glory of the losers will be arriving on November 11th or 12th. I'm not really a fan of GOTL but it has Heero and Relena on the cover. So basically I'm just a sucker. **


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:**** So, like... this chapter came out a little darker than I thought... lol Well, okay then! Enjoy?**

**Chapter 11: Same Shade As Concrete Pt. 2**

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Duo dove for the ground when the two of them finally made it around Hilde's place. They rolled and sat up, keeping close to each other with the bricks of the building right on their backs. "That crazy ass… In broad daylight! Treize is insane. What the hell!"

Heero tried his best to remain as calm as possible. He still heard the firefight taking place out front. He guessed that they would be safe there for as long as the shooting went because even though flying lead didn't discriminate, those particular bullets weren't meant for them.

"The hell did he let out them shots for anyway!?" Duo kept his head low. He also knew they were better off using his girl's building as a shield, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be extra cautious. This situation called for that. "Just a random ass attack on this block?"

Heero looked over at his friend. "You mean you still don't get it?"

"What's to get?"

Hell of a time to forget my gun at home, Heero thought as he reached for the back of his waist to grab at nothing. "Septum. It's obvious that Alex and Mueller did the job."

"No way…" Duo replayed the scene of Alex and Mueller talking to Treize in his head and then put it together with what he knew. There were rumors that the two of them did do murder for hire. He never got that deep into it, but with this sudden attack, he guessed that Heero was probably right. "Oh… yeah, I guess it makes sense. Why would they take that job? They should've known this would happen!"

The both of them instinctively ducked when some more of the building got shot off. "Damn, they're still going at it?" Duo was getting curious about what the scene out front looked like.

"Should be over soon…" It surprised Heero too, the last thing he saw was Alex and Mueller taking out their weapons to toss bullets back at Treize's assassins. It was only two of them, but it just went to show how bat shit insane they were.

"I gotta make sure I call Hilde, let her know to take her sweet ass time getting back. This place is going to be swarming with cops." If he was being completely honest, it really pissed Duo off that they would bring this craziness to his lady's place. But he was happy knowing that she wasn't around. He hated the idea of her being put in danger. And considering what their hometown was like, he had to worry about that more than most people did.

Heero had to admit, he sympathized with Duo there. Hilde also was stuck in this shit hole. She had to watch her step just like they did. At least he didn't have to think about Relena getting caught up in… Heero clenched his jaw. That wasn't a name that needed to be brought up. She wasn't his and had told her as much. He had to do what he could to remember that. Heero wanted to forget.

The pair in hiding let some time pass before they heard the sounds of chaos begin to die down. They heard some tires screeching, Treize's men clearly making their exit. A few more seconds passed by and all that was left was what they guessed were screams and sounds of people losing it. Heero scanned his friend beside him and they both nodded at each other. It was time to check things out.

They both got up and quickly made it around the building, back towards the front. A gruesome scene was presented before them.

There were more dead bodies then they expected. Blood was splattered in different directions and some of the tagged corpses had pools of the red fluid forming all around them. Heero didn't want to look at the bullet-filled dead, but he caught glimpses of some very graphic images that would always stay with him. Let's just say that Heero never saw the inside of a head before.

Many innocent bystanders got hit. They weren't 'innocent' in the sense that they were free of sin. Oh no, where they were attracted many characters of Treize's ilk. Of… Heero's ilk, if he was being honest. But at the same time, they didn't have anything to do with why Treize decided to pay a visit to some lowly projects. It wasn't their fault this happened. That lied with the two his eyes focused on next.

"Fuck! Alex! No!" Heero and Duo moved slowly, approaching Mueller who shocked both of them by surviving the insanity that just occurred. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for his partner in crime. Alex was laid flat on the ground, blood like wine spilling out of him. Bullets tore through his chest and stomach. His eyes wide open staring without any life up towards the sky. "Alex! Alex!" Mueller continued to shout, not wanting to believe what he was seeing. "Treize! I'm gonna kill you! Alex… I'm gonna get him for both of us… for this goddamn block! I'm gonna get that son of a bitch!"

"This is crazy…" Duo shook his head. "Did not expect to see this today. Damn near got shot dead and now… this." Duo reached for his phone. "I gotta call my girl." He walked away as he called Hilde.

Heero stood there, surveying the field. He appeared expressionless but inside this was bothering him a whole hell of a lot. It was like he was looking at a war torn battlefield. His eyes moved from one part of the massacre to the other. He was so close to becoming one of these statistics. He had evaded the God of Death as Duo would occasionally say. Though there was something within him that didn't think he should have. He was no better than some of these guys who were soon to decompose. 'I should be with them.' Heero continued with his morbid thinking. He wondered why he survived. Yeah, he picked up on the shooting faster than anyone else, but those shots that caught the building, should have entered him. Heero shook his head.

This was his environment and that couldn't be denied.

Was he destined to be buried here? Heero couldn't argue that he wouldn't. He wasn't afraid to die, but that didn't mean he wouldn't curse his fate. This is the world he was born in; he had no choice in that decision. It was made for him prior to his birth.

He escaped death this time, but when would the grim reaper come calling for him again? Whatever. Heero was ready. It depressed Heero that he felt that way. It made him sick actually. No one should ever have to feel ready for death. But here he was today. If his number was called, then so be it.

Heero wasn't on the ground with the other corpses, but he felt the light beginning to pour out of him.

"Hey, c'mon. We gotta get out of here. Police gonna be all over soon. We gotta go!" Duo put a hand on Heero's shoulder, getting his attention. Staring absentmindedly, Heero concurred. It was time to evacuate the crimson soaked crime scene.

They started to sprint away. Police sirens could be heard off into the distance, soundtracking their getaway.

They heard Mueller continue to curse Treize's name as he ran off as well. Swearing revenge for his fallen friend.

By the end of the day, Mueller's severed body parts would be found in the trunk of a car down by the same warehouse Septum was killed. Treize always got his man.

* * *

"Thank you, Trowa." Relena smiled up at her companion as he held the door for her, leaving the restaurant they just had their lunch in. Trowa nodded down at her. "It's been a while since I had sushi."

"Yeah, I don't even remember when I last had it myself, to be honest." Trowa replied. He remembered that she enjoyed herself a good roll and so did he.

"Dorothy's not much of a fan." Relena explained. "So I never even think about going to a place like that with her." She rolled her eyes as she thought about her picky friend.

"You and Quatre are in the same boat. He only gets it when we're hanging out."

"And we know it's what Dorothy says goes in that relationship." Relena knew her friend could be… assertive, but Quatre never really seemed to have a problem with that. As a matter of fact, he didn't mind empowering her actually and Dorothy very much took notice. She never abused her power and made sure to return the affection for her partner.

"Well you know Quatre, not the most confrontational guy in the world." Trowa noted about his good friend. "As long as she's happy, he's cool."

Relena nodded in agreement. "And I guess that's why they do so well together."

Trowa shrugged. "Guess so."

The two walked towards Trowa's ride. It was nice to head out here with someone like him, Relena began to think. Trowa was considerate, open with her and always did what he could to make her feel comfortable. It helped immensely that he was one of the most attractive guys she had ever met. She inwardly laughed at that thought. All this time, everyone had the idea that they were already tied together. Neither acted on any of the potential feelings that could possibly have been there.

Relena tried to keep thinking of him as a brother or just a really good friend. Trowa did the same, avoiding the idea of dating her for the same reasons all friends try to keep from entering relationships. Neither wanted to lose their valued friendship. But with these recent turn of events, perhaps the time had come to rethink their involvement with each other.

She got lost in thought about the situation that she didn't even notice a crack on the ground. Her foot went right for it. It caused her to stumble forward but before her body could even think about falling forward, Trowa quickly reacted. He held her steady by her waist. "Oh! Um, thanks!" She awkwardly chuckled up at him. He just shrugged, giving her a playful smirk.

He really was something to look at, Relena thought as her blue eyes clashed with his green tinted irises. She felt her face turn to the color of rose as she felt him take a firm grasp of her hips, pulling her in. Her heart beat began to pick up speed… but then something weird happened.

'It's another way of me thanking you… as friends.'

That's what she told Heero when she first hugged him.

'You're an odd girl.'

That's what Heero said when he touched her hair at his house.

'There, try again.'

That's what Heero said when he helped her hold a basketball the right way.

'Relena…'

And when he said her name, as he held her, as he was about to kiss her…

These memories assaulted her thought process. It was obviously triggered by Trowa's touch. It was almost like she was being taunted.

It's as if her head was telling her that no matter the feel of Trowa's touch, it wasn't the same as his.

It wasn't like how Heero touched her.

Relena bit her lower lip and gave her head a slight shake. There was no way he could own any real estate in her mind. He told her to go away. And… she would do what she could to honor his request.

"Something the matter?"

"Oh, um, no. Just sort of got lost there for a second." A clumsy chuckle followed her explanation. Trowa released her from his hold and gave her a funny look before putting his hands up with a grin.

"If you say so."

Relena sighed. She had to get it together. She couldn't have thoughts of… him. Not while she was with Trowa. No, not just when she's with Trowa. Just in general. She regained her composure and continued onward, Trowa right alongside her.

As they progressed forward, two guys went walking by them. They were talking about something and Relena overheard their words.

"Hey, check this out. I guess there was like a crazy shootout!" one of them said.

"Really? Where at?" his companion inquired.

"The North End. Where all of those pieces of shit live, you know? Yeah, I read on my phone that there were like a bunch of dead bodies. I think it was gang related or something."

"Sounds like a warzone out there." The man shook his head.

"I know right? Well it's better if they all just kill themselves off, I guess."

"Yeah, screw it. Saves us the trouble of paying for their prison meals."

Relena slowed her walking, looking over her shoulder at the men she eavesdropped on. The North End… that's where Heero is from. So much for keeping him from dominating her thoughts. Now she was beginning to worry. Regardless of how things went down between them, she hoped he was nowhere near whatever shooting just happened in his neck of the woods. She couldn't stand the idea of him possibly being hurt or even worse. Her body started to tighten up at the thought. But then again, awful things had occurred there before without Heero being present.

What were the chances that he was anywhere close to where this incident took place?

* * *

The next day arrived. Heero, Wufei and Duo were hanging out at the local run down basketball courts.

"Can't believe you guys were there." Wufei had heard of the big shootout, but had no idea that his two friends were involved. Or more specifically, that Treize would hit up the same place where Hilde lived.

"It was nuts man, I've never seen anything like that before. Hopefully I don't ever have to again." Treize obviously had his reputation, but Duo hadn't gotten to see his brutality in person before. It really shook him to his core.

"Treize is a monster. Why would Alex and Mueller poke that beast?" Wufei knew taking on Treize was a losing battle.

"No idea. But now they paid the ultimate price for it. Ya heard what happened to Mueller right?" Duo wondered if they heard the news.

Wufei visibly shook. Yeah, he heard. "Kinda scary."

"Damn right it is. Wonder if things will only get worse. Might have to start staying over Hilde's place, just to keep an eye on her, you get me?"

Wufei nodded. "Do what you have to do. You certainly aren't getting any protection from these cops out here. No justice at all. They're already covering it up, saying they have no idea who could have done this."

That was laughable, Duo bitterly thought. Treize was so brazen in the way he had his guy light up the block. This idea that there was nothing that could lead back to Treize was ridiculous. "Just goes to show who runs this town."

"Sad but true." Wufei agreed. "Well, in other news, I got a fight booked."

"Oh yeah? Who's the next victim?" Duo smirked at his question.

Everyone had a hustle. For Heero it was the world of high risk/high reward drug dealing. Duo liked to place bets and hustle on the courts. And for Wufei, he would occasionally take part in an underground fighting club. People placed bets on their guy and watched them beat on each other. Though Wufei very rarely was on the losing end of those bets. He had a high level of fighting ability and there weren't that many people lining up to take him on.

"Not sure, all I heard is that he's pretty strong. I'm a little excited if I'm being honest." Duo saw the smirk appear on Wufei's face. Nothing Wufei likes more than a strong opponent, Duo knew.

"You know when it's going down? I'm always up to make some money off of your fists." The braided boy couldn't pass up an easy bet.

"Don't know yet. I'll give you both a heads up when I learn the details."

"That's what's up. Betting on our boy, right Heero?" Duo looked over at his friend who hadn't said anything yet. Actually, Duo couldn't remember if he said anything all day. He noticed Heero staring off into space. He looked out of it. "Heero, buddy, we there?"

"Huh?" Heero snapped back into reality. "Oh… yeah, sure."

"I don't even think he heard a word we were saying." Duo whispered over to Wufei. The other boy shrugged, he also took note of how off Heero seemed.

Heero continued to look away from his crew. His eyes were just wandering around aimlessly. He had very little sleep last night. His thoughts were going back and forth, thinking of his mortality and whatever he called his life. He spent the time that he should've been using for sleep just sitting on his bed. His eyes saw his room but his thoughts only showed him what he witnessed earlier in the day. The view of that carnage still stuck vividly in his brain.

He pictured his face on the bodies that were lying on the ground. All he could think about was when his time would come.

Heero raked a hand through his bangs, his head starting to hurt. The lack of sleep and theorizing about his end began pumping him full of anxiety and stress.

"Hey, that dude over there? Don't he owe you some money, Heero?" Duo pointed to a guy chatting it up with some people on the court.

Heero's eyes landed on the man in question and he nodded. "Yeah…"

"He pay you?"

Heero shook his head. "That changes today though." Heero stomped off. He had given this guy more than enough time to get back at him with his cash. His time to cough up the money was long past due.

As he got closer, the man who was at least a good 5 inches taller than Heero noticed him approach. "Hey Heero, what's good my guy?"

Heero shook his head. "Follow me." was all he said.

The other man sighed but did what the teenager said. The two of them ended up alone in a back alley way across the courts and away from everyone. Heero looked around before getting down to business.

"Time to pay." The statement was blunt and to the point.

"Damn man, you really gonna bother me for six hundred dollars?"

Heero nodded. "Yup, it's time to pay."

The man rolled his eyes. "Heero, c'mon it ain't that big a deal. Just let it go. You can make that money in no time. I see you out there."

"I'll say it again, it's time to pay." Heero's voice came out as cold as ice. He wasn't in the mood to hear this guy's shit. He wanted his cash from a month ago. He gave him enough time.

"Don't give me that bullshit." the man spat back. "Besides, I ain't got it. So piss off."

"Excuse me?" Heero wondered where this man got the balls…

"You heard me you little punk. Piss off. You ain't ever getting that money and that's that." This guy wasn't trying to get shaken down by some teenager. "Now get the hell out of my way." The man began walking, purposely bumping into Heero as he tried to leave the alleyway.

Heero stood there for a second, a few things going through his head. Eventually he walked behind the man and tapped him on his shoulder. "Hey."

"I told you I ain't paying you sh-" The man turned his head to look down at Heero but he didn't finish his sentence. Heero's fist collided with his face. The man immediately dropped. "Sh-Shit… what the hell, man!" He felt like his jaw might have been broken. What the hell were this kid's fists made out of? He tried to get up to fight back but then Heero's foot snapped upwards and cracked the man on his chin. Blood flew from his mouth. "Arrgghh! Shit…" The man fell back down in a daze. He was now trying to crawl away from Heero who continued to approach him.

Heero sent his foot on the attack again, this time kicking the man right on his ribs. The man yelped and started breathing heavy. He was in severe pain now.

And unfortunately Heero didn't let up. He continued to stomp on the back on the once crawling man. No one could see him in this alleyway and he would take advantage of that.

"S...Stop… s-shit… argghhh!" The man tried to cover up, but Heero's stomps were relentless. He continued to land his foot on his back, his sides and his face. He was going to make this guy look like he got hit by a truck. He did this all while not showing a hint of emotion on his face. It would terrify someone to see Heero like this.

Eventually Heero stopped. The man was barely conscious, but still alive and still trying to get away, very slowly crawling once more. "Crazy fuck…" He heard him say.

Heero put his hand on the back of his waist. "Once more. It's time to pay."

The man tried to get up. He was woozy and could barely get up to his knees. "I got nothing." He very weakly gave Heero the middle finger.

Heero actually chuckled at this. He moved in closer and pushed him back down on the ground. He straddled the man, holding him down by the mouth, pulling out his gun and aimed right for his head.

The man started to panic once more. His eyes went wide and he could barely thrash around because of the beating he took. He tried screaming for his life but his voice was muffled by Heero's hand. He did not expect to have a gun aimed at him.

"You aren't giving up the goods? Okay, then how about I put your fucking brains on the ground? How's that sound?" Heero pressed his gun firmly into the man's forehead. His finger was tight on the trigger.

The man below him could see the emptiness in Heero's eyes. He was gonna do it! Heero was gonna kill him!

"You know what? I don't care anymore. I'm gonna kill you. That's all there is to it." Heero's voice was calm and detached. It was like he had become a murderous robot. The man tried to scream louder but Heero's grip on his mouth had only tightened.

His finger began to squeeze the trigger. "I'm gonna send you to he-"

'My name is Relena Darlian. What's yours?'

Heero gasped and his eyes expanded. His body started to lock up on him.

'Maybe… I just wanted to see you?'

More memories came flooding back.

'You don't need to worry about me.'

'Can you let me, anyway?'

Again… it's her.

'Promise you'll be fine?'

His body started to loosen up as memories of her began attacking him. The man underneath him felt his hold weaken and he used up whatever energy he had left to push Heero off and get to his feet where he began limping away, all the while calling Heero a 'crazy fuck' in the process.

Heero sat on his ass. Gun still in his hand. `I was about to kill him… over money.' the voice in Heero's head spoke.

Relena… why was she there? He said he didn't want her around. Why was she still around?

His body began to shiver all over. His head started to hurt some more.

I don't get it… Why Relena? Heero continued to hear voices in his head.

Oh yeah, she said she could love me. She can't anymore because I told her she couldn't. But she said she could. I… wonder how that would feel like?

No one ever said anything like that to me before. You can't though. You can't love someone like me. I was about to kill someone over money. If anything, I should be the one killed.

Yeah, probably.

Heero felt something shaking at the side of his head… and he realized that he had placed the barrel of his gun right at his temple. Could I do it myself?

Could you?

Heero tightened his grip on the trigger. He held it there for a few more seconds before sighing and dropping his gun at his side.

No, he couldn't. Heero didn't have the ability to do so.

Was he losing it?

Yeah, probably.

No way you live this kind of life and expect to remain as yourself… to remain normal. It will catch up to you eventually. It was catching up to Heero now. He hugged himself. Still shaking. Feeling cold all of a sudden.

"I don't know why I'm apologizing to you, but I'm sorry, Relena." Heero started talking to himself. "I've never had anyone tell me they could love me… and I pushed away the only person who told me that."

He didn't feel like he deserved it anyway. He was so close to becoming a murderer. People like that don't deserve love. They deserve death.

He began wondering when someone would come and judge him for this with the proper punishment.

He felt raindrops fall on his head. He looked up and noticed something. He's looked at the sky before, but he never took note of the color. The rain started to pick up, covering his face.

Did… did the sky always look like that? This decaying gray tone?

Was it always the same shade as concrete?

**AN:**** Uhhhh... happy hump day?**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:**** What's up guys? Here's what I call... Chapter 12. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 12: Ice Cold Ice**

The crew of three were walking their way through the city as the rain came falling. Duo, Wufei and Heero were heading for a place where they agreed to go eat. From there they would separate, each of them retreating to the next bus that brought them to the place where they rested their heads. The night began to cover the town, moonlight descending from the skies, signaling the end of the day.

Both Duo and Wufei marched on side by side, the two of them taking the occasional look back to check on the boy who made their trio. Heero continued to look like he was barely there and it seemed like it only got worse after he went to shakedown that guy for the money that he owed him. There was a look about him that seemed rather abnormal. Heero was very much alive but his eyes seemed almost completely devoid of life. Neither of them had ever seen their friend look so… pitiful.

The two of them found it a bit distressing. Heero said nothing and remained mute the entire time. Wufei shook his head at this behavior. "What's with him?" he addressed Duo.

"I don't know, man." Duo kept an eye over his shoulder at Heero. "He just seems… I don't know… Like nothings there." Heero was beginning to worry him.

"You have any idea what the deal could be?"

Duo shifted his eyes upward. "Should've really brought an umbrella, I'm such a dumbass." He shook some of the rain off his head and thought to himself for a second. "Hmm… I wonder if that girl has anything to do with it…"

"Girl?" Wufei did NOT expect to hear that.

"Oh yeah I never told you." Duo gave his companion a grin. "I guess he kind of got involved with this girl at school. She even surprised him at his house one day, I was there."

This shocked Wufei. He figured Heero to be the sanest out of everyone he knew. The last thing he expected was for Heero to be taken by some female. "Are you saying… this guy got himself a girl from that school? You have to be kidding."

Duo's grin remained plastered on his face. "Nah, it's no joke my guy. You should've seen them. There had to be something going on between those two at school."

"Hmm, maybe I gave Heero a little too much credit." Wufei thought Heero was going to school with a clear goal in mind that no human of the opposite sex could ever steer him away from. This disappointed him.

"Oh stop it, she's really cute actually!" Duo said as he defended Heero and Relena.

"Yeah, that's how they lure you in before ruining your life." Wufei waved Duo off.

"You would probably be a lot more relaxed if you had yourself a lady friend. Having one is amazing, take it from your man right here!"

Wufei gave Duo a quick up and down look before scoffing at him. "Please, I've seen you and Hilde go at it. No thank you."

"We do it out of love." Duo chuckled with a goofy smile.

"Yeah, whatever." Wufei wasn't convinced. "Besides, if it means I'll turn into… that…" Wufei nodded his head towards Heero's direction. "Then I really don't need a woman in my life."

"Yeah, he's not selling the idea to you very well, is he?" Duo sighed, looking at the sad sight that is Heero Yuy at this particular moment.

"Big time." Wufei responded.

"I kinda get the feeling they had a bit of a falling out." Duo recalled Heero being incredibly reluctant to talk about Relena. He figured Heero had done something to push that girl away, and it must have had something to do with his own personal demons.

"And that supposed to explain why he looks all screwed up?"

"Partly." Duo's eyes scanned over Heero. He looked like he was losing color in his eyes, his now wet head of hair trailing rain all over him as he slowly followed behind them, hands in his pockets and his face looking at the direction of his feet. "I think there's more to it than just girl problems."

They were now walking down an alleyway, a shortcut to where their destination lies. "You know what it could be?" Wufei ran a hand over his head to wipe off some of the rain. He also cursed not leaving without an umbrella, or at least a hoodie. "I hope it's a better excuse then just that woman."

"I'll have to find out myself. I'm not used to seeing Heero like this. It's kinda freakin' me out, honestly." Seeing his once strong friend in this state was not something Duo was used to. Heero always carried that quiet confidence about him; an intensity that few others possessed and got him the respect he had earned.

"I sure as hell ain't used to seeing him like this. It's off putting to tell you the truth."

The three walked on until they noticed something at the end of the alleyway. A car had pulled up at the end. More specifically, a cop car. They noticed two officers get out of the vehicle. Wufei and Duo had a feeling they were heading in their direction.

"Shit…" He moved over to Heero. "Toss the gun, I can already tell these guys are gonna pat us down." At first, Heero didn't move, he just stood there, not even looking at Duo. It wasn't until Duo grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "C'mon man! Toss it before they lock your ass up!"

"They're getting closer…" Wufei whispered back to them.

Duo's words were just starting to register when he shook his head and looked over to a dumpster that was right next to them. As discreetly as possible, he turned over and quickly threw it behind the huge garbage disposal unit with Duo and Wufei blocking the approaching police officer's vision.

The 3 of them continued onward before the cops got stopped right in front of them. There was an older cop, who appeared to be of middle age, and a much younger one who looked more like a rookie, but no one was sure. They both wore sinister smirks on their faces as they met the young group of three.

"Well, anything we can do for you officers?" Duo gave them a grin, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Oh yeah, there is." The older cop nodded with his arms crossed. "How about you three get your hands on the wall over there and spread your legs."

Wufei shook his head at this pathetic attempt at harassment. These cops really had nothing better to do. Justice really was dead, he thought.

"Do we gotta?" Duo whined before doing what he was told. "You guys have no reason to be bothering us." Wufei followed the officer's instructions, knowing resistance was futile.

"Shut up, do as you're told." The younger cop spoke. He watched as two of the three got in position, but then trained his eyes on the one that had yet to do so. "You too!" he spat him. "Move your ass."

Heero just stood there, lost in another world. The older cop with his arms crossed looked at Heero curiously. "Seems like this kid isn't trying to hear it. What're you gonna do?"

"Yeah you're right." The younger cop noticed. He thought for a quick second before suddenly pushing Heero by the head as hard as he could, sending him crashing into the brick wall Duo and Wufei shared. Heero stopped his face from smashing into it by holding his hands out. He most certainly would have been injured had he not done that.

"Was that really necessary?" Duo complained as he watched the officer viciously shove Heero.

"Again, I said shut up." The cop snarled at the boy with the braid.

Heero finally adjusted himself in the same position as his friends, yet to say anything.

"Pat them down, Kurt." The older of the two ordered, just watching them. The young cop named Kurt proceeded to shake down Wufei, hands crawling all over him from his ankles to his chest and arms. This always pissed off Wufei. It felt so violating. He wanted nothing more than to beat the hell out of one of these nasty cops whenever something like this happened.

He moved over to Duo, performing the same actions. Duo just shook his head at the whole process. "Man… some bullshit… Hey! Watch the hands, you gotta pay for dinner before I let you go that far!" Duo said, jumping as Officer Kurt's hands snaked through his crotch area. This stupid comment caused him to slap Duo behind the head. "Oww! The hell is wrong with you?"

"Shut it before I take the back of my gun to your head."

"Yeah, whatever…" These crooked ass cops really didn't have anything better to do thought Duo.

Officer Kurt moved on to the next one. Again, hands searching once more. Heero didn't move nor did he complain. His eyes just remained focused on brick wall in his vision. The cop searched every inch before coming to the conclusion that there was nothing to be found. He backed away and looked over at his partner. "I ain't got shit, Jay."

The older cop shrugged. "Guess you didn't. Got excited there for a second. Thought we'd catch them with something."

"Okay dipshits, keep it moving." The young officer commanded.

Wufei grunted as he pulled himself away from the wall. "Damn this guy slaps hard…" He heard Duo whine as he followed.

However, as the two young teens walked on, Heero remained, standing there, staring at the two officers who just randomly harassed them.

The pair looked at each other before looking back at Heero. "The hell is wrong with you?" Kurt asked, annoyed that this kid wasn't moving, just… looking at them.

"You guys… really are the worst." Heero spoke for the first time in what felt like forever. _'You're just as bad as me…'_ He mentally added. "You seriously don't have anything better to do? Is being pieces of shit what you both do to kill time? "

Duo and Wufei gave each other befuddled looks, both of them finding this to be a weird time for Heero to break his silence.

The two officers laughed at Heero's words. "You hear that? This kids got some fire in him." The older of the two noted.

Kurt nodded as he approached Heero. "Alright, alright… no need for all that, okay?" He placed a hand on Heero's shoulder, looking down at him with a wink of his eye. "So why don't you just go on and…" instead of finishing his sentence, Officer Kurt suddenly gave Heero an unexpected backhand that cracked Heero's chin, causing him to fall backwards.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Duo and Wufei moved back to check on their friend before the older cop shouted at the two.

"Back on the damn wall! Now!"

"Shit!" Duo cursed. He and Wufei wanted to ignore his orders but saw that the cop had his hand hovering over his gun. They reluctantly re-assumed the position. "Goddamnit, Heero…"

Officer Kurt stood over Heero, who just looked back up at him with a grin. That look was really pissing him off. "That it?" Heero taunted.

"Oh excuse me? You want more?" Kurt snickered at the kids statement. "Fine, no problem." He took his boot and swung it to the side of Heero's head. A loud thudding sound could be heard as he connected. Heero's eyes looked as if they were about to bulge out of his head. He fell to his side and kept a hand up where the officer's foot struck. From there the cop decided to rain down more stomps to his head and body. Heero curled up, trying his best to defend himself from the assault.

"Yo, enough! You tryin' to kill him or something!?" Duo was freaking out. His friend was out here getting the shit kicked out of him by cops and unfortunately they were in an area where no one could see them. Wufei's eyes darkened at the scene before him.

The officers ignored Duo. Instead, they just watched on as Kurt continued to go to work on Heero before he knelt down and picked Heero up from his shirt collar. Heero was breathing heavy, his head still ringing from the strikes. The officer's eyes piercing into his as they matched looks. "You done with the tough guy act?"

"Yeah, he's good. Y'all can stop now." Duo decided to answer for his friend, not wanting to see another moment of this.

"You… hit like… a… bitch." Heero snickered, the corner of his lips curving upwards.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me…" Duo's face fell, was Heero trying to get himself killed?

"Oh, okay then." The young cop nodded before his fist collided with Heero's face. Heero fell back, spitting up blood as he landed back on the ground. The cop struck him again. His face would be swollen after all of this, Heero knew. But that wasn't the point. He could tell this cop was a loose cannon. And he would use that for his own purposes.

Duo shook his head the entire time. This was just a horror show. His buddy was getting the hell beaten out of him. But the weird thing was that he got the feeling that Heero didn't mind this at all. Was Heero really losing his mind? "Chill already! Stop it!"

The older cop continued to watch on, not really caring about Duo pleas. Kurt continued his attack on Heero before pulling the kid up again. "Are you done now?"

"Yeah! Yeah! He's done." Duo was yelling. "Heero, you've proven you can take an ass whooping. No more okay?"

"Gonna listen to your friend here?" Kurt smiled at the bruised and bloodied Heero.

Heero was trying to keep himself from slumping over. He managed to whip his head back, throwing some of the rain from his hair at Kurt's face and looked right back at the cop. He shook his head. "They… really let weak people like you… join the force? You're… lucky you're a cop… because I would have beaten your ass a long time ago."

Duo wanted to bash his skull on the wall he had his hands on. "Heero!" Wufei looked flabbergasted. What was his friend trying to prove? This was stupid.

"What're you gonna do Kurt?" The older officer asked his younger partner, having a feeling of what he might try next.

"This kid is pretty tough, I'll admit." Kurt nodded. "But there's always a way…" He reached for his side and pulled out his firearm… sticking the barrel into Heero's neck.

"Oh, damn it... " Duo eyes widened, his face going white. Heero had gone crazy. He snapped. And now Duo was about to see his friend die right in front of him. "This isn't happening… no goddamn way." Wufei had the feeling that this cop was stupid enough to kill Heero right in front of them. Fine, but this wouldn't go down without any resistance. He readied himself, looking for the perfect time to jump at this cop. He might only make things worse, but better to go down fighting at this point he figured.

Heero laughed._ 'I couldn't do it… but maybe… you could. C'mon, shoot.' _The officer noted the lack of fear in Heero's eyes. It almost made him angrier. His finger wrapped around the trigger, Heero's expression almost daring him to kill. "Think it's funny? Hey, Jay, maybe I should blow his neck smooth off?" He looked at his partner.

Officer Jay looked around and then shrugged. "I'm sure we can get this swept under the rug."

"The fuck!?" Duo shouted. "You're really gonna 'okay' this? A murder!?"

"You hear that? You're about to die today." Kurt excitedly turned his head back at Heero. He pressed the gun harder into Heero's neck. "Any last words?"

"Heero! Shit! Let him go! He was just messing around! Stop it!" Duo was panicking. How the hell did they get to this point? His head was racing, what was he gonna do? He looked at Wufei. "I can't… this is too much, man. I'm gonna have nightmares!"

Wufei agreed, he tried to get into position to pounce. He was gonna do what he could to protect their dignity. It might end up in all of them dead, but he wouldn't care if that meant he left this world fighting back at this injustice.

"Yeah… I have some last words." Heero didn't have an ounce of fear in him. If he was serious about killing him, then that's fine. This guy would be doing him a favor. "I'll see you in hell. Now shoot."

Duo looked back and forth between the cops. "He's kidding! He's kidding! He's just trying to be a tough guy." Duo awkwardly laughed before bringing his attention to his crazy ass friend. "Heero. SHUT. THE FUCK. UP!"

"Well okay then, say goodbye." Officer Kurt shrugged. He dug his gun deeper into Heero's neck again, this time hard enough to get a grunt out of him.

Wufei had seen enough, he was ready to attack, he took his hands off the wall. The plan was to jump this insane, corrupt cop, hopefully before he shot.

And just as he was about to strike…

"Okay! Okay! I think we've had enough fun for today." Officer Jay spoke as he waved his arms in the air. "Put the gun away. Let's get out of here, I'm actually getting kind of bored."

"Yeah… not much fun killing a guy who actually looks like he wants it." He threw Heero down, putting his piece back in it's holster. "Alright, let's get out of here." The two police officers began walking away from the scene. "Hey, you crazy kids stay out of trouble okay?" He flashed them all a smirk and took off.

Duo took a deep breath and exhaled, happy this whole thing was finally over. "I think this weekend took a few years off of my life." He looked over at his man Heero, still lying on the ground. "That's it, you've officially lost it." With Wufei helping, he moved over to pick their friend up. "What is wrong with you, Heero?"

"I'm not sure what's gotten into you, but whatever it is you need to figure it out. This is too crazy." Wufei added. He had never seen Heero look so miserable before. He always had the highest opinion of Heero and the way he went about his business, regardless of his line of work. This just wasn't the Heero Yuy he was used to.

Heero stumbled and leaned his shoulder on the wall beside him, using it as support. He was beaten up and exhausted. His face would start swelling and his lips still had blood trickling out of them. "I'm going home…" His soaked bangs now covered his face. He started walking off, just wanting to be alone. The cop couldn't kill him, so he would continue living he guessed.

"This guy... " Duo watched him limp away into the rain. "Look dude, if you need anything let us know! Get yourself together, okay?" Of course Heero didn't respond, he proceeded out of the alleyway. Wanting to get out of here. Wanting to not exist.

"I honestly hope this wasn't brought upon by some girl." Wufei didn't like the idea of beating on a cop and getting killed because of it over Heero's inability to handle his girl troubles.

"Like I said." Duo shook his head. "I'm not sure it's all her. But I do get the feeling she could probably be of some help. Don't know if it's too late."

"I have no interest in this kind of thing." Wufei remarked, knowing women were not his forte. This whole Heero business only made him feel even more justified in his attitude towards women. "You can take care of him yourself if that's the case."

Duo chuckled at Wufei's predictable comments. "I need to help you, too. You gotta get laid."

"And I'm gonna kick your ass if you say that again." Wufei began making his own way out of the alley. "I think I've lost my appetite and this rain is only getting worse."

"Yeah, same." Duo followed. His thoughts went back to Heero, hoping that his friend could somehow get it together. He knew his boy was in a peculiar situation, but he didn't deserve to be going through this. At least he didn't think so. Heero seemed mentally broken. Maybe things were finally catching up to him?

_'Hopefully you can give him another shot?'_ Duo's thoughts went to the girl he met at Heero's place. Heero is human, and he had a feeling that chick could help remind him of that.

* * *

Relena and Dorothy walked the hallways of St. Gabriel. Students walking here and there, meeting and talking with friends before heading towards their next class. It was almost the end of a rather uneventful day. There wasn't much out of the ordinary they noted.

Well, except for one thing.

Relena's thoughts, as much as she hated to admit, had focused on Heero Yuy… and the fact that he didn't show up for school today.

"I still think it's rather pathetic that he didn't bother showing. I mean, to not even come in. What, is he going to keep skipping school just to keep away from you?" Dorothy had said this after there was no sign of Heero after first period or gym. She obviously knew something happened between the two, but wasn't expecting Heero to be so cowardly about it.

"That's probably not the issue." Relena retorted. "I'm sure he has good reason for his absence."

"I'm astounded that you're even defending him." Dorothy gave her friend a curious look. "You know that's what he's doing."

"I don't think Heero operates that way." Relena sighed, she was spending way too much time talking about someone who didn't want anything to do with her.

"Well I guess if someone would know that, it would be you." Dorothy responded, though still not convinced.

As hard as it was to admit, Relena was thinking about Heero. She knew about the shooting in the North End. She figured he was alright, but now she wasn't so sure. She hoped that him being a no show today was just some weird coincidence. Her current standing with him was irrelevant. She still wanted him to be safe.

"Anyway, I have to take off. I'll see you out front as usual." Dorothy waved at her friend before taking her leave. Relena smiled and nodded and walked off to her last class of the day. She spoke to a few people on her way before entering the room, getting there a little early. She took her usual spot by the window where she decided to focus her attention. With her chin rested on the palm of her hand, she let her thoughts wander.

And yes, those thoughts included him as well.

She was left with an uneasy feeling when she thought back to how Trowa's touch just didn't have that same effect as Heero's. Perhaps she still wasn't over Heero and his bizarre way of rejecting her. The end of last week, when Heero met her in the hallways… It was supposed to be the end of whatever they had at that point. But something about the way the whole thing went down made her feel different about it. These past few days left her with some time to reflect. She still wasn't content.

There was still answers that needed to be given. However, at this point, it seemed unlikely that she would get any. Wasn't that the point of last week anyway? Relena asked herself. If she couldn't get any insight into Heero's decision then… well... there was no point in thinking she would get any now. She would forever be left in the dark.

"Get out of my head…" Relena mumbled to herself. Heero did nothing but frustrate her. But she did wish he would show up tomorrow, at least then she would know he was fine.

And she would find out the next day when she stepped into her first period class.

There he was, at his desk. Though… he seemed strange.

Relena noticed how he kept half of his face covered up with his hand. He had his head turned away, looking as if he was purposefully keeping people from looking at him. Whether this was primarily aimed at her, she wasn't one hundred percent positive. She took her seat, choosing not to say anything to him. Dorothy on the other hand, was convinced that Heero was continuing to act as a coward.

"He can't even look at you. He is much more pathetic than I thought!" She whispered over to her friend.

Relena watched as Heero moved to put his head on his desk, his hands roughly running through his hair. She thought she could see him shaking. The boy honestly seemed more troubled than anything. She was sure that he wasn't doing this solely to keep from engaging with her, Relena deduced.

There was something wrong with him. What that was, she had no idea. And she didn't think she was in any position to ask him about it. They were already too complicated as it was, bothering him might not help matters.

But still…

Their teacher stepped in and class began. She would have to think about this later.

As lunch time began, the students flooded the cafeteria. Relena and her crew ate and talked about the day and other events. She knew she would get some Heero related questions, primarily from Dorothy, but since she didn't know any more than she did last week, she didn't really care to answer such inquiries.

As they finished their food, they all decided to spend the rest of their given lunch time outside. The group moved to exit the cafeteria. Relena went to toss her tray before leaving when something caught the corner of her eye.

To her surprise, Heero had actually been in the cafeteria. Although it looked like he was walking out towards the hallways. Or more accurately, close to limping out of the cafeteria. He still kept a hand over his face. She noticed people around him giving the boy funny looks. He almost tripped over himself as he finally disappeared into the hallways.

There was something that wasn't right with him. She was sure of it. From when he told her that he had to take those days off due to stress and the incident in his part of town, something had to be wrong with him. Now, whether or not she should approach him and see what the problem was… well… could she? She knew that she shouldn't, but now she was getting worried. Heero was not well and it was clear as day.

"Relena, hurry up!" she heard Dorothy cry out for her. Trowa stood by the platinum blonde, noticing that something seemed to distress Relena. He looked around to see but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

"Right…" Relena looked at her friends before taking one more look at the cafeteria entrance where Heero had almost fallen through. _'Heero…'_

* * *

He should've stayed at home.

He had no business being here today. Heero felt the most drained he had ever felt in his life. Since the shooting at Hilde's, he might have slept a total of four hours. He also ate and drank very little. He felt incredibly weak, tired and his body was ready to give up on him. He kept himself up by his hand, supporting himself on the school walls.

Luckily it seemed like everyone was outside. They couldn't see him look like such a mess and no one would bother him. He hoped anyway.

Again, he should've stayed home. Another bad decision.

It seemed like ever since the first day of school, he had done nothing but make one bad decision after the other. He had lost all logic since becoming a student at St. Gabriel. He almost wondered if coming here was a mistake, and he should've just taken his chances back in his old school. He would have been surrounded by the things that made him the way he was today, but at least he would know what to do there.

After all, it was her that made him lose his way. He shouldn't blame Relena, but meeting her made him rethink everything about himself. Heero became more aware of how evil he actually was due to Relena openly caring about him. In comparison to her, he felt like nothing. Being a criminal was one thing, but having someone show you your own shortcomings was something else. He wanted to return her feelings, but he didn't feel like he could. There was no way he would allow it. Even though he really wanted to. He had to get away from her. He couldn't let her see him, not like this. He needed to be as distant as he possibly could.

He knew that he felt different around her. She made him feel funny. It impacted Heero when she spoke to him, smiled at him. It felt… good when he touched her… when she touched him. His body would tense up, but some of that would be due to the swirl of emotions that consumed him like a tornado. And now he had chosen to deprive himself of that. It was the one right choice he made, but it hurt. He couldn't win no matter what, even when he thought he did something right.

He growled at himself, feeling a blanket of depression cover him. This weekend had been one straight out of hell. He took yesterday off of school hoping to get something of his old self back. But all it did was keep him from sleeping and his thoughts remained on his situation and where it would eventually lead him. He had become weak.

_'Why couldn't that cop just kill me?'_ He thought back to that night in the alleyway with Wufei and Duo. It would have been over, just like that. No more drugs, no more guns, no more junkies, no more death to witness… No more Relena…

His heart felt like it was swelling up and he lost control of himself, falling to his knees. He began breathing hard. His body wanted to just stop moving, to sleep already.

There was no way he would be found passed out on some school floor. He had to keep himself up. He reached into his pockets to pull out his headphones. His shaking hand placed them in his ears and then pulled out his phone. He turned it on and chose to play some random music as loud as he could.

Maybe that could keep him awake.

He picked himself up and started moving again. The loud guitars rang in his ear. It surprised him at first but that's what he needed. He kept pressing onward.

_Barren lands and barren minds_

_Ice Cold Ice_

_In another place and time_

_Ice Cold Ice_

_I feel I've never known myself_

_Ice Cold Ice_

Heero stopped for a second, catching his breath. There was no time in his life when he felt this distressed and miserable. Someone help him, he was in hell.

_See the blank expression, waiting for progression_

_They're standing still in place and time_

_And no ones moving_

_They're only standing still in Ice Cold Ice Cold Ice…_

_Only standing still in Ice Cold Ice…_

He started moving again, the song continuing to pound in his head as he turned the corner, heading down another section of the hallway. Heero was sure he made for a terrible sight. All of these thoughts began piercing his brain like knives. If he could produce tears… then fuck it, Heero thought, he would let them out. He showed enough weakness already, why would he hold back now? At least, for himself. As long as no one else saw.

As long as_ she_ didn't see…

_We'll stay together till the end_

_Ice Cold Ice_

_Thinking you might be a friend_

_Ice Cold Ice_

_We sit and pray together, that they might change the weather_

_My love for you will never die_

_If I sound distant thats because_

_You shouldn't see me crying in Ice Cold Ice..._

_Shouldn't see me crying in Ice Cold Ice…_

_Shouldn't see me crying in Ice Cold Ice…_

No matter how loud the song was, it didn't help. No amount of music, sugar, coffee, whatever could keep him up. He senses were failing. His body couldn't go on anymore. His brain began to short circuit. Heero was about to collapse. First his legs quivered before he lost his foundation. His arm that supported him from the wall lost all strength and flopped by his side like a noodle.

Heero felt his body lurch forward, expecting his head to crash on the hard floor. _'Shit, maybe this can kill me.'_ That thought coming with a morbid sense of humor. His eyelids began to shut and his vision was getting blurry.

Though a funny thing happened: Just before his world went black and his headphones fell off, he could have sworn that he saw someone move in front of him and call out his name.

That would be his last thought.

* * *

"Oh!" Relena fell to the ground as Heero tumbled right into her arms. It stung as she landed but at least she wasn't hurt. "Okay…" Now she was stuck to the ground, she adjusted herself as much as she could with her back to the wall.

When she finally looked down at Heero she gasped, finally knowing why he kept his face covered all day. He had some bruising and swelling on the side of his face and his lips looked cut. It also looked like he hadn't slept in forever! The bags under his eyes were so visible. How did she not see this at all?

She never got a good look at him all day, to be honest. She had no idea he was hiding this. "Heero… what happened to you?" her voice filled with concern for the boy in her arms. She felt herself pull him closer, holding him tightly in an embrace. He was clearly out for the count, but she held him in a way that tried to tell him he was safe now. He wouldn't be hurt anymore. Not with her around, anyway.

She smiled down at him, brushing his bangs away, studying his face some more. It didn't matter how beat up he looked, Heero was still absurdly handsome. It took a lot of willpower to keep from planting a kiss on him somewhere on that gorgeous face of his.

Her ears picked up the sound of very light snoring coming from Heero. She chuckled. It was kind of cute to hear him snore. She wondered if he always did that when he slept. She scanned his face once more and noticed something. Under his eyes, it seemed like there was a trail of tears. _'Was Heero… crying?'_ She wondered. Relena ran a thumb down his cheeks, following the streams that stained his face.

She felt Heero nuzzle into her chest and she gave the sleeping boy a genuinely warm grin before tightening her hold on him some more. She hoped someone could come by and help her bring him to Nurse Sally's office.

Though that could wait for a little bit. Last week would be forgotten for now. She would enjoy her time with him here.

"You certainly choose interesting places to sleep." She glided her hand over his bangs once more as she closed her eyes, resting her head on the wall behind them.

**AN:**** Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. All feedback is welcomed as usual. **

**Hüsker Dü - "Ice Cold Ice". Using a favorite song of mine from maybe my favorite group of all time (?) Idk... just hope you guys like the chapter. That's all. **


	13. Chapter 13

**AN:**** Hi! Hi!**

**Chapter 13: Nearly Lost You**

The light...

It started to break through, slicing the darkness that had made up his world. It continued to spread, illuminating things further as his eyelids slowly cracked open. It stung his eyes for a second, causing him to hesitate to open up further. He allowed his sight to get accustomed to the brightness before things started to take on a more familiar form. It started to make sense and he knew his eyes were looking up at the ceiling. A ceiling that he kind of remembered.

He blinked a couple times, a small groan escaping him. He turned his head around, scanning his surroundings. His vision gave him enough information to know where he was currently located. It all clicked. Heero was in Nurse Sally's office. He had only been here once before. It was on his second day of school, after he had gotten fouled in a game of basketball during gym class. He was brought up here to get his cut looked at… and he sat on this bed.

With her.

He moved his hands to rub his eyes. He felt some pain as he did so, reminding him of the beating he took at the hands of that cop. His face still looked like a mess. Well, that was what he was anyway, he figured. His physical appearance started to match his character. He was a broken kid and him lying here on this bed was proof of his shortcomings. He tried to remember the last thing he saw before blacking out.

He recalled being in the hallways before his body began to shut down. He was falling forward… he was sure of that. His head apparently didn't crash and splatter all over the floor, like he kind of hoped it would. So what happened? How did he get up here? Who brought him to Sally's office? He started to think about the moment that he collapsed. Was someone there? _Oh yeah_, Heero thought as something popped up in his head. He thought he heard someone call out to him. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Could be. He deprived himself of sleep and food. He was probably just losing it.

But still…

He couldn't help but remember that voice reaching out to him before he went out. The music of the voice that called his name carried a feminine tune to it. He was sure of that. So someone had to have been there when his body tapped out; it had to have been a girl as well.

Was it… Relena?

Heero hoped not. For her to see him in such a state… to see him look so worthless… he didn't want that. It killed him to think of how she would view him. Would she be disgusted by him? He wouldn't blame her if that were the case. It would hurt him, he wouldn't lie, but she would be justified. Even more so if she saw those tears he remembered falling down.

He didn't want anybody to see him… but that goes double for her.

He slowly lifted himself and brought his knees up and leaned his arms over them. He was by himself. The nurse wasn't around, so he turned to look at the clock on the wall.

School had wrapped up about 10 minutes ago. He spent the rest of the school day sleeping. He sighed. Was he going to get in trouble for this? What were the reactions when they saw his face? Hopefully they wouldn't bug him about it. Whatever, he just needed to get out of here.

At that exact moment, he heard the door open. A figure entered the room… and it was the person he wanted to see the least. His eyes widened and his breath paused. Relena Darlian closed the door behind her and stopped in her tracks as she saw an awakened Heero looking directly at her. They both held stares, neither of them knowing what to say. Relena studied his face, not looking so much at the obvious bruising, but more at the way it looked in general as his eyes matched hers. There was an emptiness about him that she just wasn't used to seeing. He looked lost, like he wasn't sure what to do. That face of his… it was almost as if he was afraid of her. This was distressing for Relena. This wasn't the Heero she had come to know.

"Um, did you just wake up?" She tried, hoping to see his features change to something less forlorn.

Heero answered with a slight nod before tearing his view away from her and hung his head low, not wanting to be seen by her anymore. She noticed this and frowned. This wasn't just Heero avoiding her like he had been doing, this felt like something different.

"If you were wondering how you got here…" Relena continued. "I found you in the hallway and had you brought up." She thought she saw his body shake. "I tried calling out to you, but I guess with those headphones on you couldn't hear me." She gave him some time to respond.

He didn't.

Heero kept looking away from her, feeling ashamed that, yes, she was the one that found him. There was no way he could look at her.

Relena sighed, taking a few steps forward. "Sally could tell how exhausted you were, so she allowed you to sleep here." No reaction again. He just sat there, upper body slumped over, arms lifelessly dangling over his knees. Relena's head shook, unable to understand the person she was trying to talk to. "I had to convince her to not make such a big deal about your injuries. I told her that you told me you fell the other day and that you've had a hard time sleeping over the past weekend." Relena could tell that Sally wasn't buying it, but the nurse had decided against her better judgement to humor the young girl, recognizing her obvious attachment to the sleeping boy.

She was lying on his behalf. If that was supposed to make Heero feel better, it didn't.

Relena got closer, trying to get a better view of him. He hadn't said a thing and she got the feeling he didn't want her around. She pondered the idea of possibly giving him what he wanted and leave him here alone. However, that thought left her head as quickly as it entered. Heero wasn't right and in this building, in this world that wasn't his home, he was facing whatever was bothering him all by his lonesome. He could get mad at her all he wanted; he could tell her that he wanted to be left alone again, but she wasn't having it.

"I'd ask what happened, but I don't think you're going to tell me, are you?" she asked, this time referring to his bruised up face, pulling a chair over as she took a seat beside him. Her eyes scanned his unresponsive form. Seconds of silence passed and he remained quiet. He still refused to look at her. Relena wanted him to respond, to give her the insight she needed. Where was the origin of this clear and obvious pain? Why were there tears that stained his cheeks.

Her head tilted downward, hands folded on her lap. She twiddled her thumbs, unsure of where to go next. His silence made things difficult to continue, neither of them able to match looks again, though not because of any reluctance on Relena's part. She bit her lip and her brows furrowed. More time passed and eventually Relena spoke again. "I heard there was a… terrible shooting that happened around your neighborhood."

Heero's hands balled up and his body grew stiff. Next, his jaw clenched and his eyes closed. He didn't want to think on past events, but something like that would be front page local news shit. It would be online for everyone to read and hear about. It made sense that she would ask him. Unlike anyone else in this school, he thought, she was probably the only one to ever step foot in his world. Relena was just too curious for her own good.

"When I heard about it, I immediately thought of you..." Relena continued to watch herself play with her thumbs. There was something about that statement that sent a bizarre, soothing feeling fly through him. It begged him to relax, but he continued to fight it. "Hoping that you weren't anywhere near that awful incident."

She had no idea and he didn't want to tell her. Saying nothing seemed like the way to go for him. She moved her hands to grab at skirt of her uniform, wrinkling the fabric in her grasp, wondering what it would take to get a response from him. "I wish you would tell me what's wrong."

Heero swallowed down a lump in his throat. He wished he could, too. Though, even if Heero couldn't find the words or the energy to reply, he would admit that her being here did do something for him. She helped him develop a slight numbness to the inner turmoil he was combating.

"But you didn't tell me before, I'm not sure what made me think you would this time." A sigh escaped her lips and Heero could hear that voice of hers carry the sounds of disappointment. He could only mentally apologize to her, wishing that she could understand him.

She looked up, still finding him sitting in that same position that kept him both voiceless and faceless. "Maybe I'm just bothering you."

Her presence could hurt him in some inexplicable way, but the more she remained here the more he wanted her to stay. How stupid was he for telling her to leave him alone?

No, she wasn't bothering him

"I should probably just leave."

No, he didn't want her to leave.

"I'm sure you're fine now so…"

No, he wasn't fine.

Heero heard the chair move as she stood. She was going to leave him again, but not because he pushed her away like last time.

"I can only hope that you'll take better care of yourself."

No, he wasn't sure he could do that now. His chest felt like it was going to pull apart and explode which caused a barely audible grunt to leave him.

"Bye, Heero." Her eyes studied him one last time. She wanted nothing more than for him to speak; to unload everything that he was thinking or feeling on her. She knew she wasn't dealing with the most forthcoming person in the world, but even so…

Relena wanted to reach out to him, to run a hand through his hair like she did when he fell on her… but the frustration that she felt from his refusal to engage kept her from taking that sort of action. Not that she thought Heero wanted it anyway. They would part ways here and continue how they'd been. It wasn't ideal, but it's what he asked for and she would honor his wishes.

He could hear her move, turning to walk towards that door. He would be alone again, just as he wanted. It's what he wanted… right?

Well…

"I'm sorry…"

Relena was barely halfway across the room when she spun her head back. "Heero?" Did she actually just hear his voice? It's something she hadn't heard since the end of last week.

He slowly lifted his head back up, looking straight forward. "The past few days… have been rough." The volume of his voice was only a few notches above a whisper, but she could hear him. "I'm not myself right now."

Her feet took her right back to Heero's side. He forced himself to look at her again. She didn't like the look in his eyes. There was nothing there. That fire and intensity that captivated her from the beginning was completely absent. It's as if the blue in his irises were beginning to fade away. Heero wasn't himself, he was definitely right about that.

"What happened?" She hoped his words meant he would start responding now. Relena wanted to know, he just had to tell her.

"I can't say everything, Relena." Heero forced himself to continue. There was a part of him that didn't want to talk, but if that meant she would stay then fine… he would talk. "But I'm just not doing well."

"I can tell." Once again, he wasn't being specific, but admitting he had problems like this was progress. "So I think you'll know what I'll ask next." She gazed at him, crossing her arms as she did so. Heero knew what she would ask. "Is there anything I can do?"

His worn out eyes focused downward. "It's something I'll have to figure out on my own."

It wasn't the answer she wanted, but it was the one she expected. Of course he needed help. He was still just being his usual stubborn self. At least that part of him was still there. "When are you going to realize that you don't have to fight whatever it is you're battling all on your own?" Relena said with an exasperated sigh. "Even if we're not… together, it doesn't mean I can't help you."

Heero meekly nodded. _Fuck it_, he thought, she was right. "I know, that's true. That's why… I'm glad you're here."

Well, she wasn't quite expecting that kind of response, but she would definitely take it. "I'll be here whenever you need me. I know I can't help you out there, beyond these school walls, but if there's anything you need to get off your chest, or maybe you just need to talk, please… Heero, never hesitate."

"Hn." He looked back up at her replied with a simple nod of the head. She smiled down at him and he felt like some of the light that had poured out of him was beginning to return. A simple curve of her lips upward could do that to him. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

Though that's when thoughts of him deserving her sympathy started to come right back. He wasn't being fully honest with her and he knew it. There was a reason he was so conflicted, and he wasn't giving up that information.

He moved his work. He was a criminal who hadn't been caught yet. If the cops didn't get him, a bullet to the head would… and he would absolutely deserve it. His body began to quake, ripping a hard tremor through him.

Heero grunted and wrapped his arms around himself. His head began to pound. He closed his eyes as tightly as he could; his forehead creased and his eyebrows furrowed. Concern immediately overtook the blonde standing at his side. "Heero, are you okay?" She heard him groan and wasn't sure what was happening. She noticed his body shake and his hands dug into the fabric of his uniform, probably digging well into his skin as well.

It looked like he had suddenly entered zero degree weather with the way his body shivered. He wasn't responding to her, he just sat there shaking violently. "Heero please! What's wrong?" She tried again, but all he could do was shake his head. This didn't look normal. She looked around, wondering if she should get someone.

"I'm fine…" Heero tried to say, still visibly quivering.

_Like hell he was!_ Relena shouted internally. Heero really had no idea when to give up and accept help, but he would learn...

He had grown that weak. Just the thought of his true self sent him towards this sudden downward spiral. He wasn't deserving of anyone's help. There was no place for him except the streets, that jungle built with concrete. His thinking continued to go in darker directions, with images of his dead body lying somewhere face down in a pool of his own blood.

That's how he figured he would go. Death was a certainty and the more time went on, the more he was sure it would come sooner rather than later.

These damaging thoughts repeated in his head before something put everything on pause. Heero felt arms coil around him… arms that weren't his. His eyes snapped open and he saw that Relena had placed her chin on his head while she wrapped herself around him. She held him as tightly as she could, hands rubbing his shoulders and upper back. Her hands told him to relax; that everything would be alright.

It began to work, his body still shook, but slowly his involuntary movements began to subside. "It's okay, Heero. I'm here, I'll protect you."

Did he need protecting? Yeah, probably from himself, he surmised

"R-Relena…" He wanted to buy into her words because he knew he had no choice. He hated to say it, but he needed help. There was only so much he could do himself and he wasn't succeeding anyway. "I'm sorry." There he went apologizing again.

Relena adjusted herself by loosening her hold and moved her hands to cup his face, tilting his head to make eye contact with her avoiding his bruising as much as possible so she wouldn't hurt him. Her face exuded warmth and comfort; her smile pierced deep into Heero's soul, injecting him with care and reassurance. "You don't have to say sorry to me." She began. "Listen Heero, not to sound rude, but I'm just going to ignore everything dumb you told me last week. It doesn't matter anymore. As long as you're here, as long as you need someone to reach out to, just know that I'll be right there."

Her voice managed to strike a balance between affectionate and firm. She watched his eyes tremble, he seemed unsure at first but eventually nodded in his reply.

Relena closed her eyelids and placed her forehead on his. That simple action finally relaxed him altogether. He felt his chest expand, allowing him to breathe again. He closed his eyes along with her, a sense of peace enveloping him much like her embrace did. His body felt a pleasurable heat build up within him. The young boy reached up to cover a hand over one of hers and, with just enough strength, he squeezed it. It was his way of telling her how much he appreciated this… appreciated her.

Her thumbs lightly brushed back and forth over his face. It tickled him slightly, but he didn't flinch. He loved the feeling, actually; his face felt an enjoyable tingling sensation that he didn't know could be produced. Once again, she was showing him something new.

Neither of them wanted to break away… they would choose to remain like this for a little while longer. Regardless of the circumstances, everything felt right at that particular moment.

And to think, Heero thought, he almost lost this.

The two were so gone in each other's company that not one of them realized the door had cracked open.

A pair of emerald eyes looked on with amusement. He chuckled before looking away; with his hands in his pockets, he leaned up against the wall beside the door. "Wow, you're good." He said to no one. "And I get the feeling you weren't even trying." Trowa, the guy that actually helped Relena bring the sleeping Heero to the nurse's office, shrugged with a smirk. "Seems like I picked a losing battle, huh?"

* * *

**AN:**** Nothing much here, just giving love to all of u! Thank you for reading.**

**Screaming Trees - "Nearly Lost You"**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:**** Have a good Thanksgiving everyone!**

**Chapter 14: She Sells Sanctuary**

Relena exited Sally's office, closing the door behind her. She leaned her back on it, looking up towards the ceiling with a smile exuding contentment. Heero had stayed behind, telling her he would leave on his own after he collected his thoughts for a bit. Of course, she offered to take him home when he was ready and, as she expected, he declined. She tried to remind him that he would be missing his bus, but he insisted that it was fine, that it didn't bother him. Relena asked him once more if he would be okay, and he gave her a nod. There was a part of her that wasn't sure whether to believe him or not and Heero picked up on that, telling her that all was good; he just needed some time to get himself together.

She would just have to trust him. Relena let him have his way, but reluctantly so. It was frightening to see Heero's body shake like it did. He must've really been going through something difficult to have that kind of reaction. It made her want to stick by his side, which is why she wished he accepted her offer to drop him off. She could at least keep an eye on him till he got home.

But of course he turned her down. She would just have to hope that he would get it together enough to revert back to the being the boy with the steely Prussian eyes that had tossed her invitation on the day they met. That had become such a funny memory now, smirking as she thought of it. Since then their relationship had become something of a bizarre roller coaster ride. They started off badly before they began building a friendship that almost turned romantic before going back down when Heero strangely rejected her and now… this.

It was probably just a friendship again but one that almost saw Relena taking the initiative and kissing Heero. She thought about brushing her lips against his when their heads were together but stopped herself from taking action. She wasn't sure if it was too soon considering how awkward they had been up to that point, nor was she confident that Heero would be fine with it. Relena took the safe route and kept her lips to herself.

But she hoped another opportunity would arise… and if the situation was right, she wouldn't hesitate.

Her cheeks produced a reddish tint and she sighed at the thought.

"He okay?" A voice she knew well brought her back to the present. She turned to look at the boy that helped her bring up the fallen Heero.

"He assures me he is." She answered Trowa. "I'm not confident that he's one hundred percent, but I'll just have to believe in him."

"Guys like that always prefer go through things alone. I can relate in some ways." Trowa commented. "You'll have your hands full with that one." Trowa nodded his head back towards Sally's door.

Relena chuckled. "I guess you're right."

"Pagan know you're on your way?" Trowa asked, knowing she probably didn't intend to spend this much time after school.

"I sent him a message letting him know I would need a little more time." Relena pushed off the door before moving over next to the emerald eyed friend of hers.

"I see." Trowa moved off of his spot on the wall and began walking towards the nearest staircase, Relena moving right beside him. His chance at the girl next to him was short lived. He did what he could in the time allotted, but nothing happened. He truly underestimated the kind of impact that Mr, Yuy had on her. He made sure that he had spent the entire past weekend with her, trying to make things happen, but whenever they were together, she always appeared as if her thoughts were somewhere else.

Or from what he could tell now, her thoughts were with _someone_ else.

After what he saw in the nurse's office, he knew it was time to raise the white flag, to throw in the towel, to tap out. All the metaphors one would use to signal defeat came to mind. He knew it was over.

No fair, he jokingly thought, he met her first. A grin formed on his face.

As they reached the stairs, he noticed Relena pause before descending. "What's up?" Trowa asked.

"Trowa… sorry." Relena gave him an apologetic smile. "I know you were trying… and I was too, but… Heero…"

He raised a hand to keep her from continuing, giving her a smile of his own. "Hey now, I'm no sore loser. I know when I'm over-matched. All I can do is wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks Trowa." Relena was glad she had an understanding friend. She knew who she wanted and it was better to be honest with him.

He shrugged and moved closer to her. "But, if he blows this opportunity…" He reached out to tuck a strand of Relena's hair behind her ear. She took a sharp breath but gave him a smirk.

"I'll know where to find you." Relena replied, a blush returning to her face. She hoped this time would be different with Heero. She already told him that she would forget whatever he said when he tried to push her away. Relena was going to try again and she had a feeling that things would be better this time around.

And if she was wrong… hey, there was always Trowa Barton. Not a bad consolation prize. Though considering how stupidly attractive he was, she had to wonder if he would remain single for long.

But that didn't matter to her now. Making things work with Heero was what she wanted more than anything when it came to her personal life, and something about Heero made her feel like he would be more receptive to her feelings. She hoped, anyway.

"Good." He gave her a wink. "C'mon, I'll walk you to your ride."

* * *

Duo remained in front of his guy, watching him dribble the ball, taking a swipe at it here and there as Heero moved from one side to another. Heero pushed into Duo who tried his best to guard him, but Heero backed him down well enough under the hoop before turning to toss the ball in, scoring over Duo.

"Damn…" Duo passed the ball back to Heero who moved it back up to the three point line. He once again started dribbling as Duo moved back up to defend him, but before his braided friend got close enough, Heero rushed in and stopped suddenly to take a mid range shot, scoring yet another point against his friend.

"Some bullshit…" Duo muttered as he grabbed the ball to give it back to Heero. Once more Heero took off and Duo kept up with him. Heero took another shot but this time Duo defended well enough to get it to miss. He grabbed the rebound and ran it back up over the three point line. They continued to have an intense one on one basketball game at the local court in the neighborhood. They always played each other hard. Neither of them would say they were the best on the block, but they were some of the better players around. They saved this kind of play for whenever they went at each other, or when dollars were at stake.

Duo managed to shake Heero off as he laid it up into the basket. Heero grunted, knowing he could've stopped it. He wouldn't let Duo get another easy point. He had to make him work for it and work for it Duo did. He managed to get a few more points in but Heero made him stretch for every single shot. Duo used up more energy than he wanted to as Heero did his best to grind his friend down. At a certain point they went back and forth, shot for shot. One of them would score, but the next play would see the defender come back tougher and get the ball back.

As the game went on, Duo had found himself one point away from finishing their battle. He had the ball and he just needed to put it in the hoop one more time to finish Heero off. He couldn't afford to miss, because that would give Heero the chance to close it out as he was also just one point shy from taking the win. Duo dribbled and dribbled, trying to get as fancy as he could to shake Heero off. He knew he had more success against him when he took him to the basket. He liked his shot enough, but better off to go with what's been working, Duo deduced.

"I'm closing this out. It's gonna be a wrap… watch." Duo began to add some trash talk to his game. He had always had fun talking to Heero during games, win or lose. He gave him a smirk as he shook him off to get enough space to get closer to the basket. "Can't guard me, back off." Heero remained quiet, he never responded to Duo's shit talk. He was all business.

Heero immediately recovered and got right back up on Duo. The boy with the chestnut colored braid took the opportunity to shoot his shot. He liked how it felt leaving his hands but he didn't consider that Heero would jump high enough to tip it and cause the ball to smack rim and fall back into Heero's possession. "Oh come on!" Duo whined, following Heero back up to the three point line.

Duo kept his eye on Heero's movements. The boy with the ball slowed it down, simply dribbling the ball, standing in place as he eyed Duo down.

"Feeling better?" Duo asked, still keeping his attention on the ball.

"Hn." Heero knew what he was asking him about. It was the end of the school week and after the whole passing out incident at school, he spent the rest of his free time locked away in his room. He ignored calls from anyone who tried to contact him and kept to himself. He needed to get lost in his head. He had gone through some rough stuff lately and he felt like he needed to slow the world down for a second so he could get himself back together.

It worked well enough. He spent his time outside of St. Gabriel's walls doing school work, reading and catching up on sleep. Things had come easier to him and he could feel his head start to piece itself back together. Heero figured a lot of that had to do with a specific person who was there when he needed her the most.

She definitely helped in his mental recovery. She saw him at his lowest and she still became someone he could lean on. She gave him something to believe in. He still didn't feel like he deserved it, but he didn't care anymore. He knew she had a spot in his life. Relena gave him hope and in her he found the sanctuary.

And If he hadn't hesitated on that day in the gym, she would've become something more to him than just an important ally.

But maybe that could change, Heero wondered as he switched the ball from hand to another. Maybe he would take the chance to make her the most important person in his life, if she wasn't already.

He just needed the right opportunity and, well, there was tomorrow…

"Your face is looking normal again." Duo noted as he stood there, waiting for Heero to move. His friend's face started to revert back to its original form.

"Hn."

"You gonna go or what?" Duo was getting impatient. Either he was going to try and end the game or Duo was just going to defend him to the point of fouling him to get the ball away. Heero didn't respond, he just backed up farther away from the three point line. Duo looked at him curiously. What was he trying to do?

Heero gave him a faint smile and this got a raised eyebrow from Duo. "What's with you all of a sudden?"

"Nothing at all." Heero took a quick step back and shot the ball from well over twenty-nine feet away from the basket.

A flabbergasted Duo followed the ball that left Heero's hands from a ridiculous distance. _There was no way!_ Duo thought it was a stupid shot to take and he ran up to catch the rebound… but there was none to get. The ball splashed right through the hoop, ending the game. Duo's jaw felt like it would go straight through the concrete under his feet. "You gotta be kiddin'..." To see such a dumb shot go in… yeah, Heero was feeling better all right. Duo shook his head and looked back to see Heero walk over to the rusted out steel bleachers that were court side to take a seat. "Damn, what a stupid way to lose a game." He grabbed the ball that bounced back towards him and ran back up towards his friend. "C'mon, two outta three!"

Heero shook his head and waved him off, not wanting to run it back right now.

"I'm gonna get my win back, you'll see." Duo dribbled some more before putting the ball down and taking a spot next to Heero. "Oh, I forgot to tell you!"

"What?" Heero spun his head over at him.

"Wufei, he's got his fight booked for tomorrow." Duo mentioned, reminding Heero that Wufei had his own money to make. "It's gonna be at that building on 5th street that used to be a drug den. You know the one."

Heero nodded, yeah he remembered. It was raided by the police a few months ago. He was actually on his way there when the cops busted in. He was lucky to be running late that day. "What time is the fight?"

"I'll have to double check with Wufei." Duo replied. "I know it's in the afternoon though."

"Afternoon, huh?" Heero muttered.

"We're going right?"

"Hmm…" Heero kept his vision towards the court. "I won't be able to make it."

"What? Why not?" That was strange, Heero always watched Wufei fight.

"I…" Heero found it hard to say. "I…" Duo watched Heero's expression change, clearly not able to communicate his reason very well.

"You… You… what? Spit out already!" Duo pressed. What was so hard about telling him his reason for his absence at Wufei's fight?

Heero released a labored sigh. He couldn't believe the words that were about to escape his lips. He probably shouldn't even say it, but it came out anyway. It wasn't something he ever thought he would say. Not in a million years.

And Duo most definitely didn't expect to hear what he was about to hear come out of Heero's mouth next.

"I… have a date tomorrow."

* * *

_Earlier that day, Heero sat on a bench by the fields at school during lunch time. He had his arms crossed and looked towards the sky, watching mindlessly as clouds floated and the birds flew by. He was halfway done with yet another school day and a few more hours away from ending yet another school week. _

_He raked a hand through his head and closed his eyes, letting his mind drift away. The week started off shitty, but as it progressed things started to find its way back to a relative normalcy. He kept himself home all week and just focused on himself. Today, though, he felt like he got to a point where he could step back out again. He had the idea of contacting Duo to play some ball. Hooping could get intense, but he loved getting lost in the competition. It was a battlefield he didn't mind jumping into. _

_Here in school, things were about as normal as they could get with him. As usual, he kept to himself, not interested in getting involved with anyone. He would continue to refuse people his attention unless it was absolutely necessary. _

_Well, not exactly everyone. He owed her his attention, and they went back to where they were before this whole mess. Relena made sure to go out of her way to check up on him everyday since their reconciliation. He would always assure her that he was fine, and she would remind him that she was always available if he needed her. He really appreciated her concern. It used to bother him somewhat to have someone so worried about him, but now he was coming around to the idea. _

_It was just another way that Relena managed to strike a bit of change within him. _

_The way she held his face… it was an odd sensation to describe, but when she did that, it was like a ray of light hitting him from the heavens. Her palms were warm and she held him so gently. With their foreheads pressed to one another, he almost felt like if he were in another state of mind, he could have actually done what he almost did when he held her in the gym. His body produced a small shiver as he thought that. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but now he was thinking it would be nice if she were around now. _

"_Heero?"_

_It was almost as if his thoughts had summoned her. Heero lifted his eyelids and saw her standing before him, looking both graceful and alluring as always. Her perfectly groomed hair dancing behind her as the breeze ran through it. _

"_Mind if I have a seat?" She asked._

_Heero shrugged. "I don't mind."_

_She sat beside him, not saying anything to each other right away. They sat in perfectly comfortable silence, both of them taking in their surroundings. They saw other kids pass them by; Relena looked around to see the same things Heero had been looking at before he closed his eyes. It was a perfectly nice day out today. There would be a few more good days out before they began entering a colder change in climate. They would have to take advantage of that. _

_Relena turned to look over at him and analyzed his features. His face wasn't as badly bruised as it was when she saw him earlier in the week; that tough, unyielding glare that she was used to seeing on him had also appeared to have returned. This pleased the honey blonde greatly. _

"_Your face looks better." She spoke, ending the silence between them._

"_Hn." Heero nodded. He was glad about that. It was a pain in the ass to keep his face covered all the time. _

"_I wish you would tell me what happened." Relena wasn't sure if she was bothering him by bringing it up. He didn't want to answer it before, so he probably wasn't eager to say anything now._

_Heero frowned, but he guessed it couldn't be helped. With a face screwed up like his, there had to be an explanation. He would give her one, he decided, but he would choose to leave out the important facts. She didn't need to know it was a cop who beat on him and that it was basically a suicide attempt on his part._

"_I got into a fight." He looked over at her, meeting her stare. "I was by myself and a few guys decided to test me." That's what he decided to run with. _

"_Really?" She could see how that would leave a mark or two on him. "Why did that happen?"_

_Heero shrugged again. "No real reason." He said nonchalantly. "Random things like that occur all the time where I'm from."_

"_Well that sounds awful." Relena shook her head, feeling sorry that Heero had to live in a world of aimless violence. The closer she got to him, the more she concerned herself with his health, physical and mental. _

"_Now do you understand why I was so upset when you came to see me?" Heero reminded her of that little stunt she pulled. _

"_I do now." Relena nodded. "But I don't regret doing it. I think it was important for me to see where you're from."_

"_Not that important, not when it comes to risking your own safety, Relena." Heero chided. _

_She smirked at him. "But there's nothing to worry about if you're there to protect me, right?"_

_Heero rolled his eyes. "That's not the point. As you can plainly see, sometimes I can't even protect myself."_

"_Isn't that what I'm for? To protect you?" Relena reminded him of the words she spoke back in Sally's office. _

"_No offense, but I may need a little more back up if I'm going up against a bunch of guys again."_

_Relena chuckled with a nod of her head. "I guess you have a point there, but I would still need to think of something to do to help you in that situation."_

"_Don't think too hard about it." he replied. "I'll make sure you're never in that kind of predicament." _

"_By keeping me away from your neighborhood as much as possible." Relena knew what he meant by that._

"_Precisely." _

_Relena sighed. "It's a shame your home is located in such a sketchy part of town. I wouldn't of minded dropping in on you every once in a while." He noticed her eyes soften on him and he simultaneously felt awkward and fortunate… fortunate to have someone like her around. She was keeping him sane, keeping him from losing his mind while he continued living out his life looking over his shoulder. _

"_Nothing I can do about that, at least not right now." He was here to work on it, to get himself out of there. His eyes looked back out, scanning the scenery, watching students walk past them and through the fields. _

_They fell back into silence._

_The girl beside him thought about what he said and how he had acted recently. From what she could tell, a lot of Heero's personal issues seem to stem from his hatred of his living situation. Being surrounded by what he had to face everyday must've started to break him down. Not that she considered Heero weak or anything because he most certainly wasn't that, but she could tell that he was a lot more sensitive than he let on. He didn't want to be there. Relena was positive that living in the North End was getting to him. Life had caught up with Heero and it was breaking both him down and her heart as well. _

_She was ready to admit that, at this point, his pain was becoming hers. She didn't want to see him go through what he went through a few days ago again. He was fine now, but that didn't mean he couldn't revert back to a quivering, depressed mess. _

_No, she wouldn't let that happen. She said she would protect him and she meant it. She cared for him, she… she loved him. Yeah, she was there already. She could say it now, at least to herself. _

_She loved Heero Yuy._

_She was going to do what she could to help him through whatever personal hell he might suffer through._

_And she was going to start now. If she was right, and being stuck in the North End was the source of his pain, then she would have to bring him out of there. He needed to spend more time in places that weren't his usual settings. She had an idea, one she had been mulling over these past few days. All she needed was his cooperation. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, collecting herself before turning over to Heero. _

"_Hey, um, can I ask you something?"_

_Heero's eyes returned to acknowledge her again. "What is it?" She could've just asked him straight up, Heero thought as he gave her a curious look. _

"_Are... are you doing anything tomorrow?" Her heart began to pound just a little faster after asking that question._

"_Uh, well…" Where did that question come from? He could think of some things he could do, but nothing he really wanted to do. There was some business he had to take care of, but these days his enthusiasm for his work was greatly decreasing. Not that he had much love for it to begin with. "I guess not, why do you ask?"_

'_Good' she thought to herself as a smile began to form. "Oh, well, I was thinking that maybe it could do you some good to get out of your usual habitat for a day."_

"_What do you mean by that?" Heero frowned, not getting what she was implying. _

"_What I mean is…" Now there was heat beginning to rush to her face. "How about you and I go do something tomorrow?" She swallowed down the lump forming in her throat. Her mind began racing, hoping that he would accept. _

_Oh… Heero wasn't expecting that. Now he began to feel funny. It was aggravating to all of a sudden feel his stomach become bombarded with butterflies. He wasn't quite sure how to respond. He thought about her question again and it sounded like… "Uh… so like a… date?" Those words felt so strange coming out of his mouth. It was actually kind of uncomfortable. _

"_Um, well, I suppose you could look at it that way, sure." As stoic as he could be sometimes, he was very easy to read right now. He looked so bewildered to the point where it was actually kind of cute. This got a chuckle out of her and a frown out of him. "We don't have to do anything crazy. I was thinking maybe just a simple stroll through a park. The weather is still nice so I figured we could do something outdoors. You don't have to say yes, it was just something I thought you might want to do that didn't involve being stuck in the North End all day long."_

_She watched him turn away, his eyes narrowing. He didn't look too happy and she felt deflated. She was really hoping he would accept, not just because of her strong feelings for him, but because she knew he needed it. Yes, she selfishly wanted to spend the day with him, but she also had his well-being in mind. She turned away and got rid of another lump down her throat and began feeling stupid for asking now that Heero had yet to respond. His expression hadn't changed. She figured it was best to rescind her offer. _

_One step forward, two steps back. Relena sighed._

"_Sorry, I guess that was a du-"_

"_Fine, we can do whatever you want." He nodded over to her as he stood up, noticing lunchtime was beginning to wrap up. She was right, he could use some time away from his usual bullshit and… that meant he could spend more time with her, in his sanctuary. The place where he could find peace._

_Okay… "Uh…" Relena happily shook off her negative thoughts and stood up alongside him as she noticed lunch end, as well. "Good!' Her lips curved upwards as much as they possibly could. She wouldn't get too animated here in front of him, but to say that she was elated to hear him accept her offer would be an understatement. She could freak out when she got home. _

"_I'll… walk you to your next class, let's go." Heero's feet moved back towards the building. Relena nodded, she placed a fist on her chest, as if trying to keep her heart from bursting out of her. She caught up with Heero and the two of them retreated to the school they shared._

_Side by side._

* * *

**AN:**** The Cult - "She Sells Sanctuary" **


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Love Like Blood**

Giving Pagan a 'thank you' before stepping out of her ride, Relena shuffled towards the building she had entered and exited so many times in the past couple of years. Today was another day at the prestigious St. Gabriel Academy. She greeted everyone as she passed by the usual crowds. As always, she was showered with smiles and choruses of 'good mornings'. She wasn't always comfortable with the attention she got, if she was being honest, but eventually she found herself able to tolerate it.

Sometimes she wondered how she got so popular in the first place. She wasn't the only kid at school who came from wealth or even an influential family. So what made her such a lightning rod for attention? Relena couldn't find an answer. Her friends, however, were quick to tell her it was because she's just so damned nice and easy going. Dorothy would also teasingly add how absolutely adorable she could be sometimes and that it was an attractive quality that drew people to her.

Whatever the reasons were, it didn't matter anymore she thought as she entered the school, heading towards her first class of the day. She got used to it and figured out how to navigate school life with all of this unwanted intrigue in her. At least it never got too crazy. There were maybe some guys that tried to approach her for dates and things of that nature, but it hardly ever turned into anything. There were many attractive boys in her school, but none that could truly hold her interest. She had yet to meet a guy that could pull her away from her studies or even her home life. She dated someone a while ago, but the relationship was so unremarkable that she couldn't even remember much about the guy. Her young love life was devoid of any real excitement.

Trowa could have changed that, but it was bad timing on both of their parts that killed that. There could have been something real between them but well… That thought drifted away as a smile began forming on her face.

Yes, it looked like another typical morning at St. Gabriel, but there was something different about today.

"There she is." As she advanced to her classroom, she heard the mischievous tone of her best friend.

"Morning, Dorothy." Relena aimed her smile at the platinum haired girl as she began to walk alongside her. Dorothy noticed the elated look on her friend, knowing exactly where that came from. Dorothy made sure she got all the details from the past couple of days in Relena's life.

"So, how do you feel? Like a brand new woman?" Dorothy grinned, watching as Relena hugged her books tighter to her chest.

"I don't know if that's how I would describe it, but I do feel a little different."

"It's been a while since you were in this kind of situation, so you're forgetting how to act and now you're feeling all funny inside." Dorothy explained. "Isn't it grand?"

"Sure, Dorothy." Relena chuckled as the pair got closer to their first class of the day.

They saw their room come up and both of them noticed someone leaning on the wall beside the open door. He had his arms folded in front of him and eyes looking straight forward. Relena could recognize that figure and those unruly bangs anywhere. He always made for an extravagant sight and she now could take pride in knowing it was all hers. The thought of that caused her heart jump. That felt like an uncharacteristic thing for her to think, but that just went to show how much of an impact he had on her. Maybe Dorothy was right, she wondered, maybe she was a new woman.

The two girls approached the boy named Heero Yuy, both of them stopping in front of his line of vision.

There were two girls in front of him, but Heero's focus was only trained on one of them at the moment. He saw her smile at him and he held back the feeling of wanting to pull her in as much as he could. PDA at school was a level he wasn't sure he was at yet, but he wondered how long it would take before she broke down that barrier, too. He felt like she would continue to show him what a new world could look like with her. If she would be his guide, he would be all for it.

He didn't think he would do what he did a couple days ago, either, so...

"Good morning, Heero." She spoke as blue eyes locked on blue eyes. She, too, had to fight back the need to jump into his arms. She didn't see him yesterday and that just built up her anticipation for their next meeting.

Heero nodded at her. "Hope you slept well."

"I kinda didn't." Heero responded to that by giving her a questioning look. This made Relena want to chuckle but instead her smile just grew. "Honestly, I was just a little too excited for school today, so it was really hard to fall asleep last night."

"Hn." He nodded with softened features. "Same here, actually." Relena could tell he was a little embarrassed to admit that. Dorothy called her adorable, but weirdly enough she thought the same thing about Heero right now. He would probably get annoyed if he heard her use that word to describe him and that made her want to both laugh and embrace him tightly.

"So you were excited as well?" Relena teasingly asked.

"I guess you could say that." They both stared at each other, almost forgetting they were at school for a second. They were both thinking the same thing and that was that neither of them really wanted to be at school right now. No, they would much rather be out somewhere together again.

Just the two of them… just like it was two days ago.

"You two can make bedroom eyes at one another later." Dorothy spoke, reminding them of her presence. She cut in front of Relena to grab her lover's attention with a hand offered out to Heero. "It appears we'll be seeing a lot more of each other from here on out. So, allow me to introduce myself," It was a funny thing for her to do considering that they've technically know about the other for a little while now, but this was the first time Dorothy actually spoke to him. Prior to today, that was a privilege reserved only for Relena and to a lesser extent Trowa, not that Heero actually wanted to talk to the latter. "My name is Dorothy Catalonia, I'm sure you've heard of me."

Heero cocked an eyebrow at the girl before looking back at Relena who gave him an apologetic smile. Well, he expected this. She was her best friend after all, so he would be dealing with this girl whether he liked it or not. He sighed but took her hand. "Heero Yuy." came his simple response.

"I hope we can become good friends." Dorothy continued before breaking off the handshake. She looked back at Relena and flashed her a smirk. "I'll see you inside, dear." Dorothy walked off, heading inside their classroom. "Nice to meet you, Heero Yuy!" the two of them could hear her say.

Relena reached out to grab a hold of his hand taking Heero by surprise. He was clearly taken off guard but she could feel his hand beginning to relax in her hold. "Sorry about her."

Heero shrugged. "I'll get used to it." If it meant he could remain someone important to Relena, then he could tolerate Dorothy. Small price to pay, all things considered.

"Well, want to get this day started?" Relena asked him. He gave her a nod, wanting to wrap up this school day as quickly as possible. Then, he could have the girl standing before him all to himself once again. He would be able to return to paradise.

Hell can always wait.

* * *

_Heero wandered the park where he would meet Relena. He had never been to this place before. It was far nicer than anywhere the North End had to offer. It made him feel a bit guilty that he couldn't bring her anywhere that was close to home. There wasn't much to see where he was from and definitely nothing as well kept as this place seemed to be. _

_The weather was perfect and the amount of people that convened here spoke to that. Everyone knew the temperature would start dipping eventually. People had to enjoy the warm sun while it still smiled down on them. Hoodie season wasn't that far off, Heero thought. Wouldn't be long before he would have to put his muscle shirts away, at least for public use. _

_He stayed around the entrance of the park, where Relena said she would meet him. He walked along a river, watching as the sun reflected off the clear water. He found a spot to kneel down, observing as schools of fish hurried down the see-through stream. If there was a place like this on his side of town, Heero pondered, he knew it wouldn't look anything like what he was looking at right now. It would look closer to a landfill, he figured. Trash being thrown around by trash people is what he thought. Then again, Heero didn't feel like he was in any position to judge his fellow North End residents. He was trash, just like them. _

_Or maybe that made him the perfect person to judge, Heero wondered. _

_He immediately shook away those thoughts. Today wasn't the day. One of the reasons he chose to come here was to get away from it all. It wouldn't last forever, but he knew the time away from that hellscape he called home was important for him. He would do anything to keep from losing his mind again. _

_He looked across the river, his head beginning to space out a bit. He allowed the environment to consume him as a calming breeze slid all around his skin. He shut his eyes, finding the feeling of the wind to put him in a bizarrely serene state of mind. It had been quite a while since he last felt this much at peace. _

_It didn't last long, however, as all of a sudden he felt something jump on him. It pushed him slightly and his eyes opened to see that a small white dog had been the cause of it. It had it's paws on him and tried to jump to get a good lick at his face. This dog was clearly no threat, he quickly deduced. He adjusted himself to turn around, facing the animal. He gently ran his hands across the joyful dog's white fur, trying to keep its tongue from painting his face. _

_He noticed a collar around its neck and a dog tag to go along with it. He grabbed the tag and read the name that was engraved on it._

"_Mary…" Heero said out loud. He ran his hands over her head, scratching behind the ears which only made the dog more excitable. He flashed Mary a light smile. He had to admit, she was cute dog. _

"_Mary! Mary!" Heero heard someone call out for her. He looked up to find a little girl rush over to them. "There you are!" the young girl said giggling. The dog moved off of him and back into the girl's arms. "Hi there!" she spoke to Heero as she tried in vain to avoid Mary's tongue lashings. "Sorry about Mary, I let her go on accident."_

_Heero just shook his head. "It's fine." _

"_I was with my parents but I got away from them." she said deviously. "I don't think they can find me." _

_Heero looked around to see if there were any adults looking for a kid. He couldn't find anyone, though. She was a sneaky one, he could tell. "Do you know where they are?"_

"_Yeah, I know." the girl laughed as she continued to play with Mary. _

"_You should return to them." Heero told the girl. "They're probably worried about you."_

"_I know they are." the girl stated almost matter-of-factly; Heero almost laughed at that. "What about you?" she continued. "Where are your parents?"_

"_I don't have any." Heero wasn't sure that was the correct response to give her, but it came out of him automatically. It's all he knew what to say when the subject of his family came up. _

"_Really?" she gave him a look of surprise. "That sounds sad. So does that mean you're always by yourself?" _

_He wasn't expecting to answer these kinds of questions from a girl that was probably a decade younger than him. He thought of ways to reply before answering that. "Hmm, well… I'm not alone all the time." was all he could come up with. It was true, but there were so many days where he still felt completely isolated from everyone, but he wouldn't speak on that here, obviously. _

"_Well that's good." she grinned. "So why are you here then?"_

_Are kids always this curious? "I'm waiting for someone."_

"_Ooh, so if you're alone a lot, then this person must be special, right?" There was a big grin on her face as she asked that. Heero didn't see that coming and he actually found it hard to look at her as he looked for something to say, and apparently that response was somewhere on the ground. _

"_Um, yeah, you're right." He reached over to nervously rub his shoulder, trying to find out how this little girl managed to make him feel awkward. Damn her. _

"_I knew it!" she laughed while enthusiastically petting Mary. "So this person is special like the way my mom and dad call each other special?"_

_Okay, he had enough of her childish inquiries. But before he managed to change the subject on his own, he heard a couple different voices cry out. Heero looked and saw two adults frantically looking around. The girl looked back and saw them, too. _

"_Oh, that's my mom and dad!" She said with a tone that showed how oblivious she was to her parent's obvious suffering in trying to find her. _

"_You better go, they seem very worried about you." Heero mentioned, feeling bad for the pair. _

"_Yeah they are." she looked down at her furry companion. "C'mon Mary!" The dog barked and the two took off. "Bye Mister! Hope you have a good day!" She waved back at him as she left him alone once more. _

_He watched as she grouped back up with her family. Her parents seemed both upset and relieved to find their child run back to them. The mother hugged the girl tightly while the father looked glad to see the search for their daughter end. From there, the reunited family walked off and disappeared into another direction. _

_As they faded away, Heero wondered if he would have acted like that girl if he had grown up normally like her... if his parents had stayed alive. He could only shrug to himself; no use thinking about something that will never be, he concluded. _

"_So, you're also good with animals and kids." That delightful, feminine voice that he had heard so many times before finally arrived; his head snapping around to focus his view on the person he had been waiting for all this time. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"_

"_Relena." He rose to his feet, taking in the wonderful sight she made. With a yellow colored dress flowing down to her knees with similarly colored, strapped sandals to match, Heero remembered that he had only seen her outside of her school uniform once, and now both times she took his words from him. Her hair was neatly tied into a long ponytail that fell in line right behind her with a purse strap hanging off one of her exposed shoulders. "Hey…" That was the only thing he could spit out, still entranced by her presence. _

"_Hope you haven't been waiting long." She noticed how Heero's signature head of uncooperative hair moved in the breeze, His face had only gotten better since yesterday, bringing back his boyish good looks. The sleeves of his black t-shirt did their best to contain his ripped biceps. As always, he looked utterly gorgeous. She had to make sure this whole thing went well, because that would mean she would be able to see him like this more often. _

_Heero shook his head and Relena nodded back. "Sorry, I was watching your whole thing there with that girl. Not sure what you guys were talking about but it looked like you handled it well, which is good because you never know when you might need those skills in the future." She caught Heero rolling his eyes and had to stifle a laugh from escaping. "Let's go, we'll follow the river that way." she said, pointing to the direction they started heading down towards. _

_They followed the path by the water, walking side by side. Heero wasn't sure where they were going, letting Relena take the lead as this was her territory. "Did your usual driver drop you off?" Heero asked, keeping his hands stuffed down his jean's pockets. _

"_Yeah, and I take it the bus did the same for you?"_

"_Hn." He nodded in the affirmative. Every once in a while he'd order a ride through his phone if he was in a hurry, but Heero would prefer to save his money. It was easy to find bootleg bus passes in his neighborhood, anyway. _

"_One day I'll get you to accept a ride from me, just you wait." Heero figured if things went smoothly today, she would probably be right. However, he would make sure to fight against that every chance he got. _

"_We'll see." Heero muttered. _

"_I guess we will." a smirking Relena tossed back. _

"_If that happens then maybe you'll tell me what's up with the pink on that car."_

"_I swear I didn't ask for it to be that color." Relena groaned. She heard enough jokes about it when she first started showing up in that vehicle. "I'm not THAT much of a girly girl." She saw him give her a skeptical glance. "Stop it."_

_Heero shrugged and they continued on. _

_They eventually got to a bridge that connected to the otherside of the park over the river. As they walked across, Relena paused as they got to the middle, overlooking the water and getting a good view of everything else. "How do you like this place so far?" _

"_It's… nice." he began, leaning over the bridge's metal railing. "Definitely not what I'm used to."_

"_Yeah, I figured you could appreciate some time away from home." _

_And appreciate it he did. This girl really cared too much for him. He looked back over to her. "You come here often?"_

_She got closer, hands clasped behind her. "Every once in a while with friends or whatever. I used to come here a lot with my family when I was younger."_

"_Not so much now?" _

_Relena's eyes took in the scenery as she stood beside him. "No, though it's not like there's that many seventeen year olds clamoring for the chance to hang out at the park with their parents." Relena chuckled and looked at Heero who gave her a weird look before turning away again. That's when she remembered that she was talking to someone with no family to speak of. She inwardly cringed, hating herself for saying that. She had to say something else now; she didn't want him thinking she took her family for granted when someone like Heero didn't have what she had._

"_But maybe I should ask if they'd want to come back." She tried again. "Especially since my father has been making an effort to be around more."_

"_Has that been an issue with him?" Heero wondered, recalling the night of her party when he met her parents._

"_Yeah, his job keeps him busy, so I get why it was tough for him." she explained. "At the same time, it always annoyed me how little I saw him at home, so I couldn't even think about doing things with my whole family present."_

"_And he's doing better now?" he questioned her again._

_She nodded. "Yup, things began to change shortly after my party. He started showing up more, we've had dinners as a family again, we've even gone out as family more. It's been good seeing both my mom and dad around at the same time."_

_Heero felt happy for her. He didn't know what that was like, but was glad that Relena did. He hoped she would never take that for granted. "I can only imagine what that's like." Those words kind of slipped out of his mouth; it was more of a thought he tried to keep to himself. The last thing he wanted was to look like he was fishing for sympathy because of his pathetic upbringing. _

_Before Relena could say anything to that, she heard her phone go off. She dug into her purse and pulled it out. "I think that's Dorothy…" She leaned over the railing to go through her phone. _

_He wasn't intentionally trying to look, but Heero's eyes wandered to the device in her hands and saw something on her phone that he recognized. On her home screen there appeared to be a picture of a stuffed bear… the same one he got her for her birthday. A prideful feeling swept over him and he found himself fighting back a dopey smile that threatened to pop up. 'She still has it', the words echoing in his head._

"_Sorry." Relena apologized, putting her phone away after finishing her response to certain nosy platinum blonde. "So Heero, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but do you know anything about your parents?" She hoped there wasn't any line she was crossing in asking, but she wanted to know if he had any knowledge about them. All she knew was what his uncle told her, which wasn't much other than their names: Odin and Aoi. _

_Heero could only shake his head at the question. "I don't know a thing. I… never cared to ask."_

"_How come?" _

"_I don't know." He shook his head again. He wanted to give her a better answer, so he offered up something that was closer to what may have been the truth. "I guess I didn't see the need in knowing about people I'll never meet, so I never asked Uncle J and he never said a thing. I only know their names and that they're dead, that's all. I don't even know how they died." _

"_Aren't you the least bit curious to find out more about them?" Heero's eyes looked over to scan Relena's face. She didn't seem to understand why he wouldn't want to know about his mother and father. He guessed that made sense. She didn't grow up not knowing, so what he said must've sounded really strange to her. "Maybe you should ask your uncle. I think it might be good for you to know about them."_

"_Hmm…" He never felt like he needed to know before, why change that now? Though as the days went on, he had to admit that he would be lying if he said he was completely uninterested in knowing more about the people that birthed him. Who were these two foolish people who brought him into this ugly world and why did they leave him here to rot? "You could be right, I'm not sure yet."_

"_Well at least you still have your uncle here with you, even if you're not related by blood." Relena figured it was better than having nothing. She wondered what would have been his fate if Uncle J wasn't even in the picture. _

"_I've never looked at him like that. We just live together, that's it." Heero just couldn't see Uncle J as a parental figure. Yeah, he helped keep him alive and taught him how to handle a weapon, but Heero was pretty sure there was more to being a parent than that. _

"_Even so, Heero, he's all you have." Relena rejected his attitude towards his Uncle. _

"_Hn." he grunted. "That's not saying much." Relena sighed at his apathy towards Uncle J. "As far as I'm concerned, I have nothing."_

"_Heero, that's not true." she huffed out in annoyance. _

"_Hm?" _

"_Don't say that." Relena moved in closer to him, giving him a look that mixed disappointment and concern. "You don't have 'nothing', that's not true at all."_

_He raised an eyebrow at the girl. "What do you mean?" _

"_I mean, what you just said was a lie, duh." She wasn't sure how he didn't understand that. "It doesn't matter how you view Uncle J, he's your tie to the past and he's taken care of you for almost your entire life, okay?"_

"_Relena?" _

"_And I've only met him once, but you have a friend in that guy Duo, right?" she continued, showing him everywhere he was wrong._

_Heero suddenly felt her sneak an arm around his to reach for one of his hands. She interlocked their fingers together, holding him tightly. Her soft skin feeling pleasantly smooth on his slightly more calloused palm as he squeezed her hand back. _

"_And, you have me." Her smile caused his heart to swell as she said that. She was right, he did have her and he was getting to the point where he couldn't afford to lose her either. "So please, don't ever say you 'have nothing' ever again, okay?"_

_He slowly nodded at her. "Yeah, sorry."_

"_It's all right, now c'mon," Relena pulled him away from the railing, wanting to finally move on from this bridge. "I'm thirsty and I know where they sell lemonade around here."_

_The pair went on with their day together, grabbing something to drink as well as food to go along with it. They spent time talking about school and learning a little more about each other, with Heero hearing about her friends that he saw her usually hang around with. There were a lot of people at St. Gabriel that loved her, but Relena kept a very tight circle of people close to her. He knew about Dorothy and her boyfriend Quatre; he had met Trowa Barton because that guy just couldn't keep to himself. Heero wondered if anything happened between him and Relena. He did say he would chase after her, right? So what happened? He had to assume nothing because, well, here they were and he just knew that Relena wasn't that type of girl. Whatever, he concluded, to hell with that guy, anyway. _

_Unfortunately, however, being with Relena meant he would have to learn to tolerate him. He was a close friend of hers and he did meet Relena first. He would do it for Relena, but not because he wanted to. _

_Relena discovered that the braided boy she met at his house wasn't the only friend he had. Apparently he was also good friends with Duo's girlfriend, Hilde, whom Heero actually said Relena would like if she ever met her. There was also this other person named Wufei that he mentioned, talking about how he was a person whom Relena would need some time to get used to. Much like Relena at school, Heero had a lot of people in his neighborhood that knew and respected him, but only a select few individuals that he could truly call friends. _

_She had to suppress a frown because she would love to meet others that were close to him, but Heero insisted on keeping her away, so she would never know if she would ever get that chance to meet these people. _

_They continued on touring more of the park, even walking through a small botanical garden that Relena loved. A warm sensation ran through him as he watched Relena move about; seeing her smile and content made him wonder if this was really what a normal life for a teenager was supposed to be. _

_He wasn't walking around with a gun tucked behind him. There wasn't a single moment throughout this whole day where he looked for police. He didn't carry anything on him, so there weren't any 'business' transactions that had to be made, nor was there a junkie in sight. At no point did he have to look over his shoulder to see if anybody would run up on him or check to see if another firefight would break out. _

_No sign of hell anywhere. _

_It was just him and the girl who was quickly becoming the most important person in his life. If this was what a normal life looked and felt like, then he never wanted it to end. He didn't want to go back. Of course he had no choice, but he didn't want this life to cease, no matter how much Heero knew he didn't belong. _

_For however long he was here, he would appreciate every second; Heero would love this world that had Relena Darlian in it. He'd take this 'fake' reality any day. _

_As time went on, the two found themselves walking past tennis courts, baseball fields and, of course, a basketball court. Relena looked over find Heero looking at the vacant sporting arena. "Uh, Heero, no, don't get any ideas."_

_The hint of smirk formed on his facial features. "Someone left their ball here." _

"_Please Heero, don't you get enough of this already?" she whined, knowing exactly where his thinking was. _

"_What?" he shot her a funny look. "You haven't practiced?"_

"_Practiced?"_

"_Yeah, remember the last time you just barely touched the rim?" Heero commented, bringing up the last time they shared a basketball court. "I take it you haven't worked on your shot."_

"_Of course I haven't." she sighed. "And we're not 'practicing' now, either."_

"_C'mon," he reached for her wrist, the corners of his lips turning upward as he gently tugged her along. "I'm sure you'll be better this time."_

"_Heero, no!" she pleaded with a half smile. "You know I don't do this kind of thing."_

"_Didn't you say earlier that you weren't that much of a girly girl?" Heero mentioned, reminding Relena of her own words. "We'll just take a few shots, that's it."_

"_Ugh… I take it back." She probably shouldn't have said that, Relena thought as she let out a groan. "Heero, we have gym class for this." Relena wondered how they always ended up on a basketball court together. Must be some weird love curse placed on her, she deduced. _

_He ignored her, proceeding through the court's cyclone fence entrance and towards the hoop closest to the ball. He let her go and almost immediately started putting up shots. Relena could only shake her head in faux annoyance, but at the same time, it was nice to see Heero doing something he liked to do. After this past week, seeing him so battered and distraught, she could tell he needed this. She would do more than put up with sports if that meant he would never have to experience that pain again. Relena said she would protect him, and she had no plans to go back on that promise. _

"_Remember what I taught you?" He addressed her, softly bounce passing the ball at her direction. Relena grabbed it with both hands, giving Heero a pleading stare._

"_Do I have to?" The smirking Heero nodded at her. "Fine…" and with a heavy sigh she walked up to a comfortable distance away from the hoop. _

"_You're supposed to dribble the ball when you're moving with it."_

"_Shut up." Relena heard him snicker. Now she had to make the shot. "Okay, let's see…" She tried to recall how he placed her hands last time. "Like this, right?" Relena muttered to herself. It looked like the correct way he told her to hold it, not like it would make too much of a difference. Her hands were way too small to handle this ball, let alone make a good shot. "Well, whatever." Using all the upper body strength she had, Relena tossed the ball up._

_They both watched as it flew up in the air, but much like last time it hit nothing but iron. It ricocheted off the rim and Heero went to go grab it. "There, are you happy?" Relena called out as he returned, ball in hand. _

"_Not until you make a shot." He handed it back to the reluctant girl. _

"_Heero…" Relena slumped her shoulders, not wanting anymore of this. "No more." she begged with some added fake sobbing. _

"_It was almost in. I know you'll make it the next time." Heero encouraged her. _

"_Yeah, you know that's not happening." she regarded him with an eye roll. _

"_Make it in and we'll leave." Heero gave her some added motivation. She held the ball like he told her last time, he knew she could get one in. _

"_We'll never leave then." Relena muttered, setting up her shot again. _

"_You got it." nodding as he watched her fiddle with her form. _

"_If you say so." Relena didn't believe him, but she could at least appreciate the confidence he had in her. She was complaining the entire time, but he was sweet enough to have faith, no matter how misplaced it was. _

"_I think I know what I'm talking about." came Heero's way of reassuring her. _

"_Well, here it goes." Relena raised the ball and for the second time today, took another shot. As they watched it fly, Relena wondered where around the hoop she would hit. Would it be the back board, the back of the rim, would she just graze the net, would she miss it comp-_

_Her thoughts were silenced by the sound of the net splashing as the ball went right through the rim. _

"_Um, what…?" Relena rubbed her eyes, wondering if they were playing tricks on her. She looked back at a grinning Heero and then back at the hoop. She repeated this a few more times before shaking her head in disbelief. "Did that actually happen? Like… what?" That was unarguably the most successful she had ever been in anything sports related, period. _

_Heero watched the ball bounce away as he approached the dumbfounded Darlian girl. He stood in front of her with that satisfied grin still in place. "See, I knew you could do it. We can leave now."_

"_Uh, okay." She started laughing, still not sure she did what she just did. Relena threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into her. "That wasn't going in without you pestering me." _

_Heero wrapped his arms around her as well, being just tight enough to make sure he wasn't hurting her. "Like I said, I know what I'm talking about." He wasn't sure if it was the shampoo, conditioner, body wash or whatever, but her scent was wonderfully dizzying to him. It was another reason for him not to let the girl leave his hold on her. _

"_You do…" She rested her head on his shoulder with her arms tightening ever so slightly around him. They stood there without saying much. Relena snaked a hand up the back of his neck, running her fingers through that unkempt head of his. She could feel Heero shiver at her touch, but she kept going as she took her other hand to do the same thing. Her fingers combed right through to the sides of his head and from what she could tell, it was probably the most combing his hair had ever seen. _

_She moved her head to look up and tilted his head down to make eye contact with him, seeing exactly what she wanted to see. Those same Prussian eyes that stained permanently into her memory from the first say they met burned brightly here again. This is what she always wanted to see. Not the near lifeless Heero she had carried up to the nurse's office. _

"_Relena," he voiced fell to a low rumble that vibrated through her ears. "Can I ask you something?"_

"_Sure." came her reply as she carefully brushed away at his brown bangs, playing with them even. "Whatever you want." _

_He moved his head along with her hand movements, enjoying how she messed around with his hair. Heero occupied his own fingers by trailing them up and down the long, straight tresses that made up her golden ponytail. "Why do you care about me?"_

"_Hm," Relena gave him a curious glare. "that's quite the question you have for me. I figured someone as smart as you would've figured it out by now."_

_Heero had a feeling, but he needed to hear it from her. _

"_So, how should I go about answering that..." She continued to lose her fingers back in that disheveled mane of his. "Hm," Her hands pushed his head downward to softly clash foreheads. "I guess, if I had to answer that… and you DO want me to answer that, right?"_

"_Hn." Moving his touch from her hair, he placed them on the sides of her warm face. Her fair skin lighting up at the feel of his fingertips on her now rose colored cheeks. His downcast eyes now targeting her lips._

"_I'll take that as a yes." she responded, her breathy voice floating in the breeze. She followed his lead moved her own hands to sides of his face. "I think the answer to your question would that… the reason I care so much about you is because…" She bit her lip before finishing her response, wanting so much to close the small gap of space between them._

"_Well, I love you."_

_That was exactly what he wanted her to say, but his body still wasn't completely prepared to hear it. His body shook as a tidal wave of emotions assaulted him, flooding his senses as the words she spoke still barely registered. It was just the effects that pounded him right away. "Relena... I…"_

_Not allowing him to finish whatever thought he was trying to convey, she shut his lips, closing them with hers. She knew she had nothing to worry about this time, but the last time they shared a basketball court together, they missed their opportunity and she made sure It wouldn't happen again. _

_Another shockwave ripped right through Heero, and this time Relena as well. Her feathery soft lips felt exactly how he thought they would feel like. As a matter of fact, it exceeded his expectations. Her lips had landed on his like pillows tumbling down on each other, and they held an extraordinary taste. This kiss, which Relena only deepened, held effects that dug deep underneath his skin._

_Like a rush of dopamine that raced to his brain and through his veins. It was as if his blood pumped faster, trying to match the intensity of this love that he shared with the young woman kissing him. It was like a sudden dose of whatever it was he sold. For a second, he wondered if this was what it felt like to get high. This was the only thing he could compare it to. _

_If this was what it felt like to kiss this girl, then he wouldn't mind becoming a junkie for this. He could always use a fix._

_Eventually the two broke apart, breathing heavily as they tried to catch their breath. Heero saw an almost bewildered look on her face and for a second he worried if he had done something wrong. "I'm… sorry if I'm not very good at this."_

_Relena blinked a few times before getting herself back together. "Uh, no!" she quickly shook her head. "You were… very good at it." She started laughing. Heero had no idea that Relena felt the same exact rush that he experienced. Needless to say, she also had never felt any sensation like that before. Appropriately enough, kissing Heero might have been one of the most intense things she had ever gone through, and it was pleasurable in every single way. _

_It made sense that Heero's kiss would send his love on the expressway to her skull. _

"_Are you sure?" He asked again, not sold on the strange way she was acting. _

"_Absolutely." Her hands were shaking and Relena did her best to steady herself. _

"_If that's true…" Heero eyes searched her face and she noticed that he saw something. "Then why are you crying?" He reached his thumb out to wipe away these tears that inexplicably feel from her eyes. _

"_Huh…" Relena just noticed the tears as they fell, but she knew she wasn't sad. No these tears were far from that. "I guess I'm just that happy."_

"_Happy? And you're crying?" Heero wasn't sure he understood. Relena could only smile at his adorable state of confusion. _

"_It works like that sometimes." She leaned in to steal another kiss. Heero pulled her into a tight embrace. He made up his mind, he didn't care anymore. This girl was his, and he just didn't give much of a fuck right now. He didn't deserve her, but so what?_

_Feeling they way he felt now, it was over. There was no going back now. _

"_Are you happy, Heero?" he heard her ask as she melted into his arms. _

_Was he happy? Yeah, absolutely._

_More than he had ever been in his entire, miserable life._

* * *

**AN:**** Hope everyone is having a nice holiday season. Always a busy time of the year for me and I'm sure everyone else. **

**As always, thanks for reading and I love you all. Stay safe, everybody. **

**Los amo a todos!**

**Killing Joke - "Love Like Blood"**


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